Pokemon Scorch Journeys
by hi there flamingo
Summary: Kylie thinks she's simply traveling on a normal journey around Kanto, but more misfortunes happen than she expected. Follow her adventures as she aspires to become the best fire Pokemon trainer ever. She'll meet plenty of new Pokemon and new friends.
1. I Choose You, Charmander!

Chapter One

I should've known that when my mother brought home a bountiful amount of brown cardboard boxes one day that my life was going to change forever. We met at the end of our driveway where my best friend Parker and I were playing with his pet Growlithe. My mother's face colored rosy with excitement.

"What's going on, mom?" I asked her innocently.

The middle aged woman couldn't hold it in her any longer. She burst into a delighted laughter and then explained, "Your father just got a job offer to work with the renowned Professor Oak,"

I frowned, "So… does that mean we have to move?"

"I'm afraid so," my mother informed.

I turned back and looked at Parker. He had his head bowed and remained silent. I could tell he was just as sad as I was that we would have to move away from one another. Not only that but my dreams of traveling the Hoenn region, since we lived in Fallabor Town, were crushed. We ended up moving that early spring to a town that I had never even heard of, Pallet Town.

It was a small village with quant homes that all looked the same. They were widely distributed through out the farm land, with those adorable picket fences and vegetable gardens in the backyard. The roads were made of packed dirt and there were only about five trees within the entire town, because of all the acres of farmland. My father drove beside a small, white cottage with old-fashioned trim which was printed with flowers and swirl designs.

"What do you think?" my father asked me as the three of us climbed out of the car. I didn't answer. I had to take a moment to soak it all in.

Soon after, the mover's truck arrived and Machoke began to help unpack our boxes and furniture. I walked inside to inspect the tiny house. It was definitely a lot more petite then our old house. To my right was the cramped kitchen and to the left was the empty space for the living room. In the far corner I could see a closet and sitting before me a short case of stairs. I scaled the diminutive staircase and it opened up to a narrow hallway. At the end was a bathroom and there were two more doors leading out of the hallway. I suspected those were the bedrooms.

I went outside to see my parents smiling while analyzing the outside. Once again, my father asked what I thought of the unsurpassed home and I did not reply.

"Kylie, stop being so grumpy," my mother ordered.

She was on the shorter side and had shoulder length, brown, curly hair. She wore an orange, floral blouse with jeans and Nike flip-flops. Not the best matching outfit. My father stood beside her. He was tall with broad shoulders and wore a green T-shirt with jeans and worn sneakers. He had long, graying hair which he wore in a low pony-tail, reminding me of director's pony-tail. He's also always had that bushy mustache above his lip since I can remember.

"Why don't you like it?" my father asked sadly.

I responded in a muffle, "I don't know…"

"Well, shape up. I'm sure Professor Oak will be coming to visit and I do not want the world's most famous Pokemon researcher thinking my daughter is emo!" my mother ranted, her arms flopping through the air. I was very surprised my mom even knew that recent term. The woman stomped into the house leaving me and my dad alone to gaze up at our new home.

"Hello, pardon me but are you the new family that has moved in next door?" a woman's voice greeted from behind.

We wheeled around to see a middle aged woman facing us. A warm smile persisted on her triangular face. She wore a pink, cotton shirt with a mocha brown pencil skirt. Her reddish, brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had brown eyes too.

"Yes we are. The name's Red," my father politely introduced, shaking the woman's had gently. "And this is my daughter Kylie,"

"Nice to meet you both," she smiled warmly. "Well, I'm Delia. I just thought I would bring you some casserole as a welcoming to the neighborhood." She handed my father a platter with a yellow and green substance in it.

"Where do you live exactly?" my dad asked, looking around to spot the household.

"Right over the hill," Delia pointed to the mound behind us.

"_MR. MIME!_" a sudden shriek startled us, almost causing my father to drop the casserole dish.

"A Pokemon!" I cried happily, clapping my hands together at the sight of the clown-like creature. He had a pale face with red orbs around his limbs. The goofy Pokemon wore an apron and pointed black shoes.

"Oh Mimie, I told you to stay at home while I visited our new neighbors," Delia giggled, patting the Mr. Mime on the head. "Mimie is the only company I get these days since my son is always out traveling. Each time he comes home he just tells me that he's setting off on another journey," the woman sighed.

"So, your son is a Pokemon trainer?" my dad questioned, nudging me lightly in the side. "Kylie has always dreamed of becoming a Pokemon trainer,"

"Is that right? Well, you'll have to pay a visit to Professor Oak. He can give you a starter Pokemon and then you'll be able to travel through out Kanto," Delia explained.

"I'll do that," I smiled halfheartedly to the woman, still upset about moving away from my friends in Fallabor Town.

"I'm sure your parents will miss you as much as I miss Ash," she sighed, staring down at her Pokemon.

"Wait, your son is Ash Ketchum!?" I shrieked, leaping into the air out of pure joy. "I am a huge fan of your sons," I told her, practically shaking in excitement.

"I'm sure he'll be happy to know he's inspired some little kids like you out there," Delia smiled sweetly before waving good-bye and heading back home with her Mr. Mime.

Later that day, after exploring the unbearably boring town of Pallet, I decided that I couldn't wait any longer to become a Pokemon trainer. So, I marched inside my house to find my parents starting to unpack things from our piles of boxes. I told them that tomorrow I was going to visit Professor Oak's lab and receive my first Pokemon. Tomorrow was the commencing of my dream.

When I was little I went to see my grandfather battle one day and he just happens to be the illustrious owner of the Pokemon Gym on Cinnabar Island. I was ten years old so I was still living in Fallabor Town in the Hoenn Region. For generations the Scorch family has trained fire type Pokemon and made themselves known for it. I wasn't about to let this tradition die. I was raised next to a volcano and around tons of different fire type Pokemon. I had known ever since I was little that I wanted to be a fire Pokemon trainer.

I desired this even more after witnessing the grand power fire type Pokemon truly have when watching my grandfather battle. He was the owner of a Ninetails, Magmar, and Arcanine. His best Pokemon by far was his Magmar. It was an obscure looking creature with fiery red skin and yellow flames printed all over its body. It had razor sharp claws on its paws and feet and two weird looking orbs stuck out of its forehead. Although Magmar appeared weird, it had remarkable strength. At that moment I knew for sure that I wanted to raise fire type Pokemon just as my father, his father, and their fathers did.

It was the next morning after telling my parents the news of my departure around the region. I had collected all my things in a black messenger bag that slung around my shoulder. I wore my favorite black tank top which had an image of a flame on the front. I also fashioned jean shorts along with that. My long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and I placed the plastic, orange watch which my father had given me around my wrist. I was all set to go.

"Oh Kylie, darling, why do you have to leave so early after our move?" my mother asked, dabbing her tears away with a handkerchief.

The three of us stood on our front steps. The golden rays from the sun were stretching over the hills of Pallet and Pidgey flew above our heads, chirping songs as they sailed in the wind. The morning dew dampened my orange sneakers and the humid, spring air made my hair stick to my throat.

My father wrapped his arm around his wife, "She doesn't want to stick around here. Kylie just lost all of her old friends in the move and now she wants to go make new ones on her journey,"

"I can't wait any longer, mom. All the other kids from Pallet have already left and started their journey. I'm already behind," I explained sadly. "I can't stick around here any longer,"

"Alright, just be careful," she wept, embracing me tightly. "Do you have all your things?"

"Yeah, I think so," I nodded, looking down at my filled messenger bag.

"And remember, Kylie, if you meet a nice, young lad don't get any ideas," my mother wagged her finger at me, causing me to burn red, "No kissing, you might catch a cold,"

I wiggled free of her embrace and shouted in embarrassment, "Alright, mom!"

I hugged and kissed both my parents once more before stepping down the steps and waving to them sorrowfully as I walked down the dirt road. I heard my mother burst into tears, her sobbing echoing in the sky. I turned my head to see my father rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, and setting eyes on my parents for the last time for the next year made tears draw to my eyes. They rolled down my cheeks but I quickly smeared them away. If I was going to travel by myself I was going to have to toughen up.

My mind got sucked into the world of Pokemon and I got lost from daydreaming of all the different fire types I would love to own someday. I found myself in the middle of a meadow, a few trees poking out of the tall grass here and there. Pidgey and Spearow pecked at the ground, hunting for bugs and purple, rat Pokemon scurried through the weeds. I collapsed to my knees, clueless of what direction I should head in order to reach Professor Oak's laboratory.

"HELLO!? IS ANYBODY OUT HERE!?" I shouted, my head cocked back up towards the sky.

Suddenly, I heard a bustle in the bushes near by. The leaves scratched on one another until finally numerous yellow jacket-like Pokemon emerged from the bush. They had long, sharp pegs as hands and beading, red eyes. The swarm raced towards me, aiming their pointed dowels forward.

"AHHHHHH!" I screamed, scrambling to my feet and starting to sprint in the opposite direction.

Luckily, I spotted a bag which contained three Pokeballs inside. So, without thinking I clutched one of the shinning spheres and chucked it towards the pack of bees. An explosion of ashen light shattered from the storage device and an orange, lizard-like creature with a flame on the tip of its tail appeared.

"Awesome, it's a Charmander!" I exclaimed happily, snapping my fingers in delight.

I quickly thought up a move of Charmander's that he could use on the pack of Beedrill. First, I instructed him to use ember. A few got pelted with the fiery specks and others dashed away in fright of the attack. However, some remained unharmed and attack the Charmander from behind. The fire type panted as he tried to swipe at those Beedrill with a slash attack, but there were too many. He was getting struck from every direction with their poisonous daggers. Finally, he was able to defeat all of them with ember, but the Charmander was exhausted and greatly injured.

I swooped the lizard up in my arms and started to run in the first direction my body faced. I felt guilty because if I had not gotten lost then this poor Charmander would've never gotten hurt. It was now my responsibility as a new trainer to take him to the nearest Pokemon Center. Strangely, after I started running, I passed this old man randomly standing out in the meadow. He was wearing a lab coat and that's all I was able to see as I hurried past him.

Eventually, I saw a city come into sight over a few hills. I estimated that I would be there in at least fifteen minutes. It was filled with buildings and populated with lights, so I knew right away it wasn't Pallet Town.

Everything was going well besides the fact that Charmander was about ready to faint and so was I. I had been running so long that I could no longer feel my legs. Suddenly, I heard a strange buzzing sound approaching me from behind. I peered over my shoulder to see the angry pack of Beedrill was back and they were gaining on us. I tried to sprint faster but I was falling short of breath. My heart sank when we arrived at a cliff. It was either slide down the rocky hill side or surrender myself to these enraged Pokemon. Might as well take our chances.

I leapt off the edge and slid down the cliff. Rocks and dirt were scraping against my legs and made my skin sting. Charmander and I reached the bottom of the cliff after numerous painful scratches to the legs. Once the Beedrill saw how much distance we had put between us and how close we were to town, they gave in and headed back to the meadow. My heart was beating like a bongo drum and my throat had grown dry. I would've rushed to the Pokemon Center but it was impossible for me to run any longer.

We finally made it to the Pokemon hospital. I placed the Charmander on the counter and the nurse gladly took him the emergency room for healing. I headed towards the lounge area to rest. The first day of my journey and already I was bushed. At least it wasn't boring. Now I had some stories to tell for when I went back home.

I sat next to an elderly man who looked exactly the same as the guy I ran passed in the field. I slapped my forehead in realization. It was Professor Oak. The man placed the magazine he was looking at on his lap. I could see from the corner of my eyes he was trying to tell if I was the weird-ass girl sprinting for my life with a Charmander in my arms that I didn't even own.

After a long wait, he asked, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but you look like the girl who was running away with my Charmander earlier today,"

I blushed in embarrassment, "Oh I am so sorry, sir. I didn't know it was yours. You see I got lost and this pack of Beedrill started to chase me, and then I found this bag with three Pokeballs in it and figured one of them could help me. So, I used your Charmander to defeat the Beedrill but he got hurt so I had to take him here," I explained speedily.

"Well, that is very mature and responsible of you," he noted.

I fiddled my thumbs while contemplating what to say next. I was wondering whether I should tell him that I was planning on visiting him in Pallet Town to receive a starter Pokemon.

"You want a starter Pokemon from me don't you, Kylie?" he asked with a smile.

I pulled back in shock, "How'd you know? And how do you know my name?" I questioned.

He chuckled, "Your mother talked with me on the phone and told me you were going to be seeing me today. So, I figured teenage girl with a fire type in her hands had to be from the Scorch family,"

I scratched the back of my head while laughing awkwardly, "Yeah, well, I was supposed to see you at your lab and choose a starter from you there…"

"But you want Charmander?"

Before I could answer, Nurse Joy brought the healed Charmander to me and then I handed him to Professor Oak.

"Kylie, I have no problem with you raising Charmander and taking him from here. There's no need for you to go back to my lab in order to make this done right," Professor Oak said.

"Thank you so much, professor!" I beamed. "So Charmander, how would you like to travel with me?" I asked.

Charmander leapt out of the professor's arms and clung to my leg while calling, "_Char-Char!_"

"Looks like he's thrilled that you are his new trainer," the Pokemon professor observed. "Oh, one last thing, Kylie. Luckily, I had a few stashed in my bag. Here is your state of the art Pokedex. It'll give you details on each Pokemon you encounter over your journey,"

"Thanks again, Professor Oak," I said showing much gratitude while placing the Pokedex in my jeans pocket.

"Now, the first gym in the Kanto region is in Pewter City which is just north of here. But be careful. The Viridian Forest is between here and there and it is a dangerous place filled with lots of different Pokemon," Professor Oak warned me.

"I guess that's not such a bad thing. More Pokemon for me to catch, right?"

"Just be cautious. There'll be lots of Pokemon trainers there as well who will want to battle you,"

I shrugged and assured the elderly researcher, "Hey, this is Kylie Scorch you're talking to. I'm ready for anything."

**A/N: I finally re-re-rewrote this chapter. Still not fantastic but better than the last at least. I also rewrote the chapter following this one. Once again, even though I rewrote it, it's still not that good. However, they are A LOT better than the 30 or so chapters that follow them. So, let me warn you all about the next 30 chapters or so of my story. They suck. I wrote them all almost a year ago when I just started writing and had no idea what a nice detailed sentence was. Each one is like the fluffy anime series but later on is when things actually start getting interesting. I'm not telling you to not read my story at all. If you were to skip about 40 chapters ahead you'd probably still know what was going on. Anyway, enjoy at your own risk! :D**


	2. They Call Themselves Team Rocket

Chapter Two

It was time I left Viridian City and headed towards the Viridian Forest. Professor Oak had warned me about the challenges I was going to face up ahead, but with a new Pokemon at my side I wasn't concerned. I was looking forward to encountering some new Pokemon and facing some new trainers in order to get some practice in before my first Pokemon gym battle.

I finished buying some food and supplies for the road. I exited the Pokemart and as I did so, I by accidentally bumped into someone heading into the store.

"Whoops, my bad," I chuckled harmlessly.

I stepped back to scrutinize the person I had just collided with. It was teenage boy that appeared around my age. He had spiky blonde hair and sported a shinning leather jacket. I could tell he was one of those guys that fancied their precious leather jackets. He was lean but still had some muscle on him and stomped around in steel toed boots that clanked against the floor when he walked.

"It is your bad," he narrowed his eyes at me.

I was stunned at his sudden and random rudeness.

He examined me up and down before asking somewhat shocked, "You don't know who I am do you?"

I answered honestly, "Nope,"

"I am the grandson of no one other than the famous Professor Oak. The name's Zane Oak and if you know what's good for you you'll step out of my way," he introduced himself smugly.

"Well sorry, Mr. Zane Oak 'The Fantastic'!" I apologized sarcastically, bowing forward and presenting him the open door like Vana White.

"Are you taunting me?" he asked in disbelief.

I gasped and replied with more sarcasm, "Would I ever ridicule such a great name as Zane Oak? No sir, I am honored to be in such a powerful presence,"

He ignored the comment and interrogated me some more. "Tell me, are you a Pokemon trainer? And if so what's your name? I want to remember you so next time I run into you I can kick your butt,"

"I'm Kylie Scorch and yeah, I am a Pokemon trainer," I informed the teenage boy.

He laughed, "You know I was actually worried about the competition this year but by the looks of you there's going to be none. That Pokemon Championship is as good as mine,"

"I'll believe it when I see it," I told him.

"You know, I would kick your sorry ass in a Pokemon battle right now, but I just don't have the energy. I've been kicking butt all day so far," Zane claimed as he stretched his arms up. "Anyway, smell ya later, Little Scorch!" he saluted then marched into the Pokemart.

I stood there puzzled, "'Little Scorch'?" I asked myself.

Viridian City was far behind me by nightfall. I looked at my watch to see it was around 7:45 p.m. My stomach craved for food and nourishment. I stopped to set up camp and eat some supper. Charmander kept me company all night. He helped me start the fire and he gladly ate the Pokemon food I gave him. It was nice to see he was alright after such a perilous day. I unrolled my sleeping bag after finishing a can of beans. It didn't taste great but it was at least food. I slithered into my sleeping bag and Charmander curled up next to me. The sound of the crackling fire put me in a trance and I eased off to sleep.

I was awoken in the middle of the night by some rustling sounds which I thought were coming from the bushes near by. I leaned forward and rubbed my eyes, eliminating the crusts that were sitting in my corneas. Charmander was strangely hovering over my hip and he appeared to be in an attack position. The fire type was growling at this odd lump that was wiggling inside my sleeping bag.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

It took a moment for me to react since I was half asleep, but as soon as I realized there was something in my sleeping bag, I leapt ten feet in the air. I squirmed every which way to free myself from my sleeping bag's embrace.

"HELP! HELP! OH MY GOD GET IT OUT!" I panicked.

Charmander stood next to me, waving his arms frantically wondering what to do. All of the sudden, midst of my fearful hysteria, Charmander released a stream of flames from his mouth, burning me, my sleeping bag, and whatever creature was inside to a crisp. I collapsed to the ground but soon after wriggled my way out of my sleeping bag's clutches.

I panted heavily as Charmander and I peered inside nervously to see what it was. I lifted the cloth to expose the hidden creature, my arm shaking in terror. What if it was a Weedle? I could've been stung and poisoned to death! Finally, I wiped the fabric off of it to reveal that it was a tiny, green caterpillar Pokemon.

"Awwwww, it's a poor, little Caterpie," I realized and pulled out my Pokedex to get more information on the bug type.

_Caterpie releases a stench from its red antenna to repel enemies. It grows by molting repeatedly._

"What it doing?" I asked Charmander, watching the Caterpie crawl speedily over towards my bag. "No way are you stealing any of my food. Charmander, stop it with scratch attack!" I declared.

Charmander raced over towards the bug Pokemon and slashed it on its side. Caterpie squawked shrilly as a small cut developed on its side. Caterpie curled up in a ball and wept softly in defeat.

"Wow, this Caterpie isn't putting up much of a fight," I sighed. "No matter, finish it off with tail whip," I instructed Charmander.

Charmander swung his tail and bashed it against the side of Caterpie, sending it flying in the air and then skidding across the ground. I fetched an empty Pokeball from my messenger bag and clicked the center button, expanding the mechanism in my hand. Next, I pitched the Pokeball majestically at Caterpie and shook with anticipation, only to see that I missed by like three feet. By this time, Caterpie was trying to head for my food supply once again. I ran over and picked up the Pokeball.

"I guess I need to work on my aim. Okay, let's try this one more time… Pokeball go!" I exclaimed as I tossed the metal storage device at the distracted Pokemon.

The second time around, I was able to hit Caterpie with the Pokeball and a red beam of light sucked the bug type inside. The red and silver sphere wobbled back and forth on the ground for awhile until, finally, it remained motionless and the clicking echoed confirming the capture was successful.

"Alright!" I yelled happily while leaping up in the air victoriously. "I caught a Pokemon! My first Pokemon! I can't believe it! This is awesome!"

I hurried over and garnered the Pokeball off the ground and into my hands. I cradled it and held it like a fragile egg. I was so proud. Charmander and I had done it. On my second day of travel I already caught the second member of my team.

"Can you believe it, Charmander?" I asked him gleefully, placing the Pokeball in front of him for him to sniff.

Charmander chimed, "_Charmander- Char,_"

Now, I wasn't one of those trainers that was preoccupied with catching even more Pokemon and had the outrageous goal of catching every one in the world. I already my ridiculous goal set on becoming the best fire Pokemon trainer ever. What I really wanted to do was befriend every Pokemon I caught and form a solid bond with them that would last forever, just as my dad and my grandpa did.

I released Caterpie from his Pokeball moments later. Now that Caterpie belonged to me, I was happy to give him some of my food. Caterpie munched on the Pokemon kibble and when we finished we all went back to bed. All was going well until I heard screaming for help. The voices sounded not too far off from here so instinctively I went to go see what the problem was. Charmander and Caterpie followed right behind. It almost brought tears to my eyes to see that they were already so loyal that they were following me without me having to order them to.

We arrived in a clearing in the center of the Viridian Forest. There were two kids that I was assuming were Pokemon trainers. The boy was short with shaggy brown hair. He wore cargo shorts and a light blue polo. The girl had raven hair which was pulled back with purple ribbons. She also fashioned a matching purple sweater and a knee-length skirt. Both of them looked around age ten or twelve.

"Our Pokemon are being stolen!" the girl shrieked.

"What? By who?" I exhaled.

I looked up to see two young adults clenching cages which contained a Nidorina and a Nidorino. There was a male who had purple hair and wore a white jumpsuit. On the front of his shirt was a bold, red R. The girl that stood next to him had weirdly sculpted maroon hair which was held back in some sort of wisp. She too wore a white outfit that had an R on her shirt. Between their black boots was a pale yellow cat-like Pokemon with a golden plate on its head.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" the woman asked.

"If the voice you're talking about is mine, then yeah, I'm standing right here," I informed her, confused of what was going on.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," the man said subsequently.

"On the wind," spoke the woman.

"Past the stars," the purple haired man stated.

"In your ears!" the cat Pokemon exclaimed.

I shook my head. Okay, now I had to be dreaming. A talking Pokemon? Maybe it was just a really furry midget.

"Bringing chaos at a break neck pace," said the woman.

"Dashing all hope putting fear in its place," uttered the man.

"You realize neither of you are making sense, right? Are you speaking Shakespearian or something?" I asked them.

The young woman continued without hesitation, "A rose by any other name is just as sweet,"

"When everything is worse our work is complete," the man spoke.

The lady identified herself, "Jesse!"

The youthful man shouted, "James!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jesse confirmed.

"Team Rocket, we're in your face!" the trio sited in unison.

I questioned while taking out my Pokedex, "Is that a Pokemon?" I aimed it at the talking cat.

_Meowth is nocturnal in nature. If it spots something shiny, its eyes glitter brightly._

"A Pokemon that talks?"

"Yeah, and he's no good either," the little boy answered angrily.

The little girl added, "None of them are,"

"Who are you and why do you want their Pokemon?" I asked them.

Jesse shook angrily, "Who are we?! Why we're Team Rocket you little dweeb! Everyone knows who we are!" she boomed.

"I don't," I replied simply.

"Well, you won't forget us after this: Cacnea go!" James shouted as he chucked a Pokeball at me.

Exploding from the white light was a green spherical Pokemon with spikes covering it. It looked similar to a cactus. Jesse selected a black snake-like Pokemon which she acknowledged as a Seviper. I was so excited. My second day out on my journey and I had already met all these cool new Pokemon. Not to mention, I had run into some action with these crooks.

Cacnea pinned Caterpie and Charmander to the ground with a pin missile and Seviper swiped them with a poison tail. Thirty seconds into my first Pokemon battle against another trainer and already I put myself in a pinch, but when I looked back to see the frightened boy and girl, worried that they might never see their Pokemon again, I knew I had to get them back.

"Caterpie, slow Cacnea and Seviper down with string shot. Charmander, knock Cacnea into Seviper with tail whip," I instructed.

Straight away, Caterpie covered Cacnea and Seviper in a thin string of silk. The string wrapped all around the two Pokemon until they were trapped in the silk cocoons and could no longer move. Charmander followed up by whacking his tail against Cacnea and sending it flying into Seviper's side. It was like baseball and Charmander had scored a homerun. Cacnea and Seviper were tangled within one another when we finished the team off with an ember attack. Mysteriously, the flecks of fire caused an explosion and sent Team Rocket flying through the air.

"It looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" they cried as they created a twinkle in the morning sky.

We freed Nidorina and Nidorino from their cages and the little boy and girl thanked me endlessly for saving their only Pokemon. Caterpie perched himself on my shoulder and Charmander latched onto my leg and snuggled against my knee. With these two Pokemon by my side, I felt fantastic. We won our first battle together and helped some fellow trainers in need. Today was off to a great start. Although, I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time that I would run into the mischievous Team Rocket.


	3. First Gym Battle Humiliation

CHAPTER THREE

**CHAPTER THREE**

I stood there in front of the Pewter City Gym. It looked like millions of boulders piled up on each other. There stood two doors that appeared to grow taller and taller the longer I stood and stared at them. They seemed to glare back at me, convincing me I wasn't ready to face an actual gym leader.

I was then only two feet away from the doors that towered over me. I was some what hoping they wouldn't open, but when I reached to pull the handle, it heavily swung open. I stepped inside ready to turn back, but then I thought of my pokemon, and my dream, this was only the first step. _I can't be afraid now, this is only the beginning_, I thought to myself.

"Who goes there?" shouted a voice from the darkness.

"Kylie Scorch and I-I want to chall-challenge you!" I stuttered from nervousness. Suddenly, lights flashed on and focused on a middle aged man with brown hair and squinty eyes. "F-for your gym badge," I continued.

"I see. That's what most _usually_ come here for," he snickered mockingly.

"I thought the gym leader was Brock?" I asked.

"He was, but now that he is out traveling I am taking over. I'm his father. Are you here to battle or ask questions?" he stood up and seethed intolerantly.

"I'm ready," I gulped doubtfully.

"Okay, let's get started then. Go Onix!" he threw a pokeball and a snake-like Pokemon constructed of massive boulders exploded from the blinding colorless light.

"Okay, I choose you Charmander!" I exclaimed strongly but on the inside I was as nervous as a dog. I shook as if I was having a seizure.

"Onix, use your bind attack!" the gym leader ordered. Onix used his rocky, snake like tail to grab Charmander and crush it until Charmander could hardly breathe.

"Charmander, use scratch!" I shouted worriedly, but it was no use, his little claws had no affect on the giant, rock snake.

"Ha, your pathetic Charmander doesn't have a chance!" the gym master grinned.

"Charmander return!" I gave in and pulled out his pokeball. The red light retrieved Charmander back inside. The only pokemon I had left was Caterpie and he can't do much against an Onix. The same thing will happen, he'll get caught in his bind and probably die from it because he's so small.

"You're my only chance! Give it all you got!" I shouted dependentally.

I chucked Catperie's Pokeball out onto the rocky court while covering my eyes unsurely. Caterpie gleefully exploded from the Pokeball, preparing himself to battle the contender, but when he looked up and saw an Onix twenty times his size, Caterpie turned around and swiftly crawled for the exit.

"Caterpie don't give up! You can take him!" I encouraged.

He turned around slowly, hoping Onix would not be there behind him. When Caterpie turned Onix was glaring at the pint sized bug Pokemon right up in his tiny face. Caterpie squealed in terror then curled up in a little ball. Onix inhaled and blew a single, light breath of air that sent Caterpie flying across the battle field.

"Caterpie are you alright!?" I yelled worried. Caterpie struggled to get up, looking over at me weakly squinting his eyes.

Brock's father stood their on the other side of the gym with a silly grin and his arms folded, like he had a full house in a poker game. I, on the other side, clenched my fists and planted my feet in the ground, still determined not to lose this battle.

"Caterpie, you can do this. Use string shot," I told him kindly. Caterpie sent a fast shot of white caterpillar silk at Onix, but the flimsy string struke Onix like a feather and didn't effect the rock type Pokemon what so ever.

"Good job Onix! Now finish him off," the gym leader spat. Brock's father stood there as if he didn't care if he won or lost, but he knew he had won. Onix was going in for an iron tail attack. His tail hardened and came down so fast I could feel the wind blow on me from his tail whipping down. I couldn't let Caterpie just stand their and get squashed, so I thought of the first thing that came to my mind.

"Caterpie run away!" I yelled. Caterpie looked back at me alarmed and then quickly ran away from Onix's speeding tail attack. Caterpie kept dodging each attack Onix threw at him. He was doing great!

"Your doing great Caterpie!" I cheered him on.

"ONIX GET HIM NOW!" the gym leader commanded in annoyance. Onix turned quickly, grabbed Caterpie, and wrapped him in a bind attack. Caterpie squirmed for his life, but was unable to fidget his way out from between the rocks. Suddenly, the worm Pokemon started to use his string shot over his own body, it slowly wrapped around him like a mummy. Before I knew it, he covered his whole body in the white silk. Caterpie's shape began to change from a caterpillar to… a cocoon?

"What's this?" the gym manager asked in shock.

"Caterpie, he's evolving!" I gasped in delight as I watched at the amazing transformation. The string fell off of my newly evolved Caterpie to reveal a green, crescent shaped, cocoon Pokemon. "Wow, a Metapod!" I said in excitement as I pulled out my Pokedex. Dexter stated that Metapod has the hardest exterior out of all the Pokemon, but the down side is the only attack it knows is harden. "Metapod, use your harden!" I shouted.

A shine flew over Metapod's body. It became harder and Onix's face showed that he was becoming tired. We stood there for another twenty minutes as Onix kept constricting and Metapod kept thickening.

"When is your Onix going to give out?" I asked as I folded my arms with a smirk on my face.

"Not until I see our Metapod's guts!" he threatened. We continued to watch as Onix grew exhausted. "Keep going Onix, don't stop until you squish that bug!" the nameless gym leader ordered. We both kept encouraging our pokemon as the day continued to go on. The sun started to set and the streets became empty, but the battle raged on. Onix still wasn't giving up, poor thing has been trying to strangle my Metapod for hours. I could tell the gym leader was bored, he too became tired of standing because he kept shifting his weight from one leg to the other. I still stood there watching my Metapod carefully, to make sure he wouldn't be squished by the Onix's great power.

With out warning, Brock's father said contently, "Onix return." He lifted up his pokeball and pressed the center button, a red light retrieved Onix into its Pokeball.

"This match is going no where. You are not proving yourself a very good trainer by making your poor Metapod suffer in such an uncomfortable condition. Please go. Maybe if you train your Pokemon more you will win next time," the strange man lectured sternly.

I stood there very disappointed in myself. He was right. I wasn't a good trainer by putting my poor Metapod through that torture. I called him back and walked out the door in silence. My head hung down as I struggled to open the door and tried to hold back tears. I walked slowly and sadly to the Pokemon Center.

I entered the cool and brightly lit Pokemon hospital to see Nurse Joy smiling warmly behind the front counter. I sulked up the counter and placed the two Pokeballs on the flat surface.

"What is wrong?" Nurse Joy asked in concern and interest.

"I lost to the gym leader," I sniffled then itched my nose.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to defeat him in no time," Nurse Joy chuckled in support.

A while later the nurse walked up to me, where I was sulking in a lounge chair, with a tray. The tray had six slots to store Pokeballs, two of them were filled with Charmander and Metapod's Pokeballs.

"Here you are. Your pokemon are all fresh and ready to go!" Nurse Joy gave me a big, warm smile.

"Thanks" I mumbled.

"That nasty gym leader sure got you down," Nurse Joy frowned sympathetically.

"The gym leader said I was a bad trainer," I looked up at her with my swollen, red eyes. They were still puffy from when I was crying.

"Oh, don't listen to him. He's a tough man, he just expects more because he's used the Pokemon League," Nurse Joy sat beside me and explained.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He had the dream of becoming the world's greatest Pokemon master. He left his wife and kids, which includes Brock, to go to the Pokemon League. His dream died when he lost in the league. He never returned to his family until recently and his wife had passed away. Brock is gone on travels right now, so that is why his father, Flint, has taken over the gym," Nurse Joy continued.

"Wow, how do you know all of that if you live in Viridian City?" I asked.

"Oh, the one in Viridian City is my sister, many of my relatives work in the Pokemon healing business too. We all look very much a like," she said and gave a giggle. I said good-bye to the Pewter City Nurse Joy and took a walk around town. I didn't know what to do now so I just took a walk with Charmander walking by my side.

"I guess we have a lot of training to do…" I murmured aloud.

"_Char…_" Charmander also hung his head.

"No use being depressed we'll just do better next time!" I cheered up confidentally.

"_Charmander!_" Charmander eagerly agreed.

"Ready Charmander, because we're going to start some extreme training! No more losing for us!" I told him.


	4. Boulder Badge Balooza!

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"WAKE UP DON'T YOU KNOW HOW LATE IT IS!" a loud, man's voice screamed at me when I wasn't even awake yet.

"WAH What!? What's going on!?!" I said as I sat up still half asleep, totally confused.

"IT'S TIME TO START YOUR TRAINING NOW GET UP!" ordered the man. I rubbed my eyes and took a look at him. He looked almost sixty and had a grey mustache. He wore a red work out fit and a red baseball cap to match. A whistle hung around his neck and pokeballs were attached to his hip.

"Hey you got pokemon! Do you want to battle?" I asked him.

"I'M NOT HERE TO BATTLE. I AM HERE TO TRAIN YOU AND YOUR POKEMON! I'M NOT GOING TO SEE YOU LOOSE ONE MORE TIME TO THAT FLINT!" said the man.

"Well, first off who are you?" I said rubbing my eyes again.

"Call me Mr. Boxer" said the man.

"Ok, what are we going to-" I started to say but all the sudden Mr. Boxer grabbed me by the arm and pulled me right out of the sleeping bag. "How did you know I lost against the gym leader?"

"News spreads fast I guess." His voice was strong and raspy, he didn't sound how he looked, not saying he was good looking or anything because that would be plain nasty. "Now send out your best pokemon, and let's see if you can defeat me." He said as he walked ten steps away from me. Then he turned around forming our mini pokemon battle field. "There are three steps to being a basic trainer besides having strong pokemon. One, is you must get along with your pokemon and they must obey, if they don't obey you, you are not experienced enough to be messing with that pokemon. Two, you must use your environment and the opponent's pokemon for your advantage. If you are battling on an ice field and your pokemon is fire, melt all the ice to make the other pokemon be forced into the water, unless it is a water type pokemon than this tactic won't do much. And finally you can never let your pokemon fall behind. Which means try not to let it get caught in a bind attack or if your opponent's pokemon sends out a stun spore attack, don't just let your pokemon take it, make it blow away the spore with a gust attack or tell it to dodge on coming attacks." I nodded.

"Now that you know the tree basic things you need to know, you might be ready to take on me. But not a gym leader just yet, you are not ready." I nodded again, taking in every bit of information. "Now, send out your pokemon." I sent out Charmander.

"_Charmander_" he called.

"Alright then I choose Lickitung!" the man through out a pokeball and a giant, pink pokemon with a huge tongue came out of it. I pulled out Dexter to see what the heck it was.

_Lickitung is a normal type pokemon with a tongue twice as long as its body. Lickitung has the power to paralyze and disable pokemon when it licks them with its giant tongue._

"Ok Charmander watch out for its tongue!" I warned him.

"Lickitung use your body slam attack!" Mr. Boxer commanded.

"Charmander climb up in a tree!" I instructed him.

"Ah, good job of using your surroundings to your advantage." He complimented. I finally understood how I should use my environment to my advantage. Like when I battle Kirt once again I should try and use the rocky battle field to my advantage.

"Charmander jump down and give him a head butt!" I shouted. Charmander shot down from the tree and bolted towards Lickitung like a jolt of lightening.

"Lickitung dodge it!" the man said to his pokemon. Lickitung did a shoulder roll and let Charmander crash into the ground. "Now, Lickitung use body slam!" Lickitung came down on him with all its might before I could warn him. I felt terrible, even though Charmander was the one getting crushed. Lickitung got off Charmander and stepped back with a grin on his face of victory.

"Charmander return!" I called him back to his pokeball. "You did great, sorry I didn't warn you in time," I said to his pokeball. I looked at my feet waiting for the old man to tell me I'm a horrible trainer, just like Kirt did.

"You got real potential kid" he said to me, and I could tell he had a smile on his face even though I was still looking down.

"You really think so?" I asked surprised yet happy.

"Yeah, I can tell you really care about the condition of your pokemon. You still need to work on communicating with them quickly though. When they are in trouble you need to tell them. You are the referee in your soccer game, what you say goes. And you need to tell your pokemon if it is out of bounds or not." His words were wise, but his metaphors were sort of confusing, but I appreciated his help.

"Thank you, sir" I said and smiled, "Would you like to come watch me challenge him again?" I offered.

"I would advise you catch more pokemon and do some more training, but my job here is done. And don't worry I'll know if you win or not." He nodded then disappeared into the forest. I continued training my Charmander mainly and when the sky was at that time of day when it was turning beautiful orange, I headed for the pokemon center to rest up my pokemon. After they were healed I headed over for the gym for another challenge but this time I could smell victory!

"Here for another let down I see?" Flint mocked.

"You won't beat me this time!" I challenged him.

"Alright, I see your not turning back. But this time only one pokemon each, so I won't have to stand here for another three hours!" he tossed his pokeball in the air. Out came his Onix once again, ready for another binding.

"Well, I choose Charmander!" I threw the pokeball doing my Ash technique.

"This shouldn't take long," he mumbled. "Onix bind it!"

"Charmander, dodge his bind!" I instructed, just like Mr. Boxer told me to do, I didn't let my pokemon get caught.

"Nice move, but you can't dodge him for ever!"

Onix kept swinging his solid, rock tail around, aiming at Charmander, but Charmander was moving too fast. Onix tired to hit Charmander but kept hitting all the giant rocks in the battle field. Not long after, there were no more rocks on the field.

"Your Onix has demolished all the rocks, Flint!" I informed.

"I don't need some lousy rocks to beat a puny Charmander like yours! Onix rock throw!" the gym leader told his pokemon. Then out of the ground giant chunks of rock flew at Charmander. But before they all almost daggered my Charmander I told him to go jump on top of Onix's head.

"Onix use your iron tail and hit that Charmander!" he told his Onix. The Onix swung his tail towards his head.

"Charmander jump off!" I told her. Charmander quickly jumped off the giant, rock snake's head, but his iron tail was still swinging up at his head. The Onix hit his own head with his own tail. Little birdies swarmed around the Onix's head as he collapsed to the rock, hard ground.

"Grounded" I whispered smiling.

"Onix return" a red beam of light retrieved the pokemon back into its safe pokeball. "You have beaten my Onix fare and square," he walked over to me and handed me a silver badge, "this will help towards your dream of entering the Pokemon League. You need to collect eight badges to get in the Pokemon League, the next town with a gym is just west of here, but you do have to find your way through Mt. Moon."

"Thank you" I said as I hugged Charmander so tight his eye balls could pop out. I took Charmander's hands and we did a little dance together, singing "We are the Champions", Flint stood there with a small but proud smile.

I walked out with a huge smile on my face and the boulder badge in my hands. I stared down at it was a new, born baby, like I was the lucky mother of this miracle of a badge. I went to the pokemon center and rested my Charmander then headed out for the mysterious Mt. Moon, where beyond that is the next gym leader.


	5. The Fortune Teller

**CHAPTER FIVE**

I walked with my badge pinned on my bag and my pokeballs attached to my belt. Leaving Pewter City I came across a middle aged woman with a maroon cloth wrapped around her head and a deep purple skirt around her belly button. This lady also wore an odd looking, gold head band with a purple gem in the center. She had hideous make up on and distracting gold, high heel shoes. She was also very short.

"May I interest you in a battle?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Pokemon?" I asked back.

"Why yes, what else?" she smiled and showed some disgusting, yellow teeth, some were even missing.

"Uh, ok, sure" I agreed.

"Let's make this more interesting shall we? If I win you give me forty bucks"

"Forty!?" I gasped in surprise. "What happens if I win?"

"I will read your future for free!" she chuckled, thinking it was a great deal.

"That's it?" I moaned in disappointment.

"Yes, are you ready?"

"Ok, bring it on, I choose you Metapod!" I threw my pokeball containing Metapod.

"Jynx!" she threw a beautiful diamond in crested, purple pokeball containing an almost human looking Pokemon. It had a purple skin, blonde hair, and wore a pink dress. I pulled out Dexter to identify this huge lipped Pokemon.

_Jynx, a Pokemon that can make other Pokemon of the opposite gender instantly fall in love with it. Once the Pokemon has fallen in love with Jynx it is very hard for it to escape the spell._

"Wow, that's not good Metapod is a boy," I murmured to myself, "Metapod, don't let Jynx get you under her spell!" I warned.

"Jynx, use your confusion ray!" the women ordered. A purplish, blackish ray came out of the center of Jynx's hands.

"Metapod, extreme harden!" I cired.

His outer shell then became shinnier and intensely thick. The beam shot at his side but bounced right back at the physic Pokemon. It hit her right in the stomach and she fell to the ground shrieking in agony.

"Oh no, Jynx, get up!" the women whaled, worried about her Pokemon. The Jynx slowly got back up, covered in dirt. "Jynx, use physic!" Then a swirl of different colors broke out of the Pokemon's hands heading for my Metapod once again.

"Metapod, harden!" I told him. Once again his exterior became much tougher and stronger. The beam hit the side of my Metapod but that time he did close his eyes like he was in pain, but he still stood alright as the physic beam fired back at Jynx. Once again it hit her as if she got tackled to the ground, but this time she did not make her way back up on her feet.

"Jynx, return!" the women returned her injured Pokemon back into her expensive looking pokeball. "You have won, and we made a deal. Come child and I will read your fortune." She set up a small card table with stars and moons printed on it. Then she pulled out two folding chairs and set them up opposite sides from each other. It grew dark so she lit some candles and placed down a small deck of cards close near her. Then she sat down and told me to take a seat. I watched in silence as she carefully shuffled the deck of cards. Then she told me to pick three. I did. She laid the three cards face down near her.

"Now these three cards will tell me something that will happen in your future. It could happen tomorrow, it could happen in thirty years. You never know until I flip these cards over." She flipped over the card furthest to the left. It showed a picture of the moon. "Now place your left hand on the top of this card," she instructed. I placed my hand on the moon card and then she put her hand on top of mine. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily. It took a couple of minutes for her to speak again. "Now flip this center card and put your hand on top of it,"

"Aren't you going to-" I got cut off by a big shush. She continued to breathe deeply and she continued to close her wrinkly eyes. We sat there for another moment, and then she told me once again to flip the last card and put my hand on it, and once again she placed her hand on top of mine. It was a small, warm hand that was boney and wrinkly. She closed her eyes once more and then opened them moments later. She grew a small smile.

"You will be quite pleased," she told me. "With in the next few days you will encounter your true love!"

"What a bunch of crap," I mumbled. I took my hand out from under hers. "Thank you, but I hardly doubt that, I'm only fourteen!" I got up and walked away, then she shouted something to me but it was very faint. It sounded like she yelled, "True love is blind!"


	6. Owen Saves The Day

**CHAPTER SIX**

I set up camp for the night right on the out skirts of Mt. Moon. Like every other night I stared up at the glistening stars and cuddled with Charmander in my uncomfortable, yet warm sleeping bag. The fire crackled me to sleep.

I awoke from the early morning sun shining down on my face. I rolled up my sleeping bag and restarted the fire so I could make some breakfast. Alls I had to cook with was some tuna, potato chips, and beef jerky. I realized none of it was worth cooking so I put out the fire with some river water. I went back to the river and splashed some water in my face. I saw my reflection and my hair was a mess! I quickly combed it, and then chomped on some beef jerky. Charmander ate his breakfast, and I stared at the crystal, clear river. I picked myself up and started walking for the mountain.

Charmander was walking by my side when I spotted a Slugma an orange, slug looking pokemon. Finally, a fire pokemon, I thought to myself.

"Charmander are you ready?" I asked him. He said his name with confidence, so I think that meant he was ready. "Use scratch!" the Slugma looked at me innocently, but I wasn't going to fall for it.

"Hitmonlee! Use your high kick!" a boy about my age called from behind me. I turned my head to see a giant Hitmonlee charging towards me.

"AHHHHHH!!!!!!" I screamed as I ran and hugged the nearest tree as tight as I could.

The fighting type pokemon kicked the Slugma and it went flying into a tree trunk. It retreated quickly and went back in the woods.

"Nice going if you weren't in the way that Slugma could've been right fully mine!" the boy said from behind me. I turned to see a boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a forest green hoodie that had the letters "KPFT" on the left side of his chest, and black and white sneakers on his feet. He was a little taller then me and he had a stub earring in his left ear.

"What are you talking about? We were here first!" I protested.

"You weren't ganna catch that Slugma even if you had the strongest pokemon in the world!" he pointed at my nose, and I looked at the tip of his stubby finger making me look cross eyed.

"What are you saying?" I said raising an eye brow and putting my hands on my hips.

"I'm saying you couldn't catch anything if your life depended on it!"

"CUT IT OUT YOU TWO!" a voice interrupted our fight. I didn't even know this guy and already he was calling me a bad trainer? He doesn't even know me, jealous.

"I see you met my grandson" the voice sounded very familiar. I turned my head to see it was Mr. Boxer, the old man who helped me before.

"You know this loud mouth, grandpa?" the boy asked him.

"Yes, I helped her train her pokemon before" he replied.

"This girl just made me loose a Slugma!"

"They're no good for fighting anyway,"

"But they're still good for pokemon battles,"

"Since when do you want to be a pokemon trainer?" the old man asked raising an eye brow.

"I don't," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry you must be wondering what's going on," the old man said to me, "I own a pokemon gym, and help trainers train their pokemon. My grandson here, Owen, wants to be a pokemon fighter."

"Grandpa, I know how to talk. You don't always have to introduce me to everyone for me, like I'm a baby," the grandson complained.

"Teens" Mr. Boxer whispered to me.

"What's a pokemon fighter?" I asked to anybody who'd answer.

"It's only the best job ever! Especially compared to a stupid pokemon trainer! OH WOOP DE DOO YOU GO OUT THERE AND THROW SOME POKEBALLS!" he through he arms up in the air and rolled his eyes at me.

"It's a lot more then that!" I argued.

"Oh, yeah right! How can a little girl like you even survive out here on your own! I bet you'll call up mommy and daddy tomorrow and say 'Come pick me up, my life is over because I wasn't good enough!'" he mocked. I stabbed his toe with the heel of my shoe and stormed off. I don't know where I was going but I just felt angrier then ever! How can some boy walk up to me and say that? I heard foot steps behind me, I turned my head to see Mr. Boxer running to catch up to me.

"Forgive my grandson, he can be a hassle sometimes" he panted. I didn't respond.

"You know he is planning on entering the Kanto Pokemon Fighting Tournament." He continued. I didn't even look at him. "KPFT, ever hear of it?" he kept going.

I finally stopped and looked at him with my arms crossed. "No," I answered.

"Well, now listen little missy, I know my grandson can be a jerk but you'll have to tolerate him."

"No I won't. I never want to see that kid again!" I began to walk again. Mr. Boxer stayed behind and just watched me stomp away.

I took out my map and finally figured out the right direction to Mt. Moon. I walked by myself through tall grass watching Hoothoot perched in the tall trees and Pidgey's fly overhead in flocks. I finally caught sight of the mountain it stood tall and it looked as if it had a little cave inside of it. As I walked closer it was a cave and a man in a lab coat and a magnified glass in his hand was standing near the entrance.

"Um, hello is this Mt. Moon?" I asked.

"Why yes and this cave here leads to Cerulean City," he told me looking at me through his magnified glass.

"What are you suppose to be?" I questioned the strange man.

"I'm an archeologist, and I came here to study the famous and mysterious moon stones that are found in this here cave."

"Cool," I said awkwardly.

"Before I head inside would you like to battle?"

"Sure!" I said glad to see my time was in good use.

"Alright we'll make it a one on one battle,"

"Agreed,"

"I choose Geodude!" he tossed a pokeball with a rock pokemon with two arms. I pulled out my pokedex wondering what it was.

_Geodude, a rock type pokemon. These pokemon are found in caves and surprise prey by looking like a boulder._

"Alright then I choose Charmander!" I threw my pokeball with Charmander inside.

"Let's get started Geodude use tackle!"

"Charmander dodge it!" I told him and he quickly jumped out of the way of Geodude's fierce tackle.

"Ok now-" the archeologist got interrupted by three evil laughs coming from a giant bush besides our battle field.

"To protect the world from devastation" Jesse from Team Rocket jumped out of the bush.

"To unite all people with in our nation" James also leaped out.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love" Jesse said as she twirled.

"To extend our reach to the stars above" James said as he held up a rose.

"Jesse!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light,"

"Surrender now or-" James was then interrupted by the rock scientist.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked

"Yeah, we're in the middle of a match here" I said pointing to our pokemon out and about.

"Do you think we care?" asked Meowth walking into the scene.

"Yes, twerp, we are Team Rocket we don't make appointments!" said James.

"We come and go as we please," Jesse said backing them up.

"Now let's take those precious pokemon!" Meowth said holding a remote that controlled a giant metal claw that grabbed my Charmander and the Geodude.

"Geodude!" the archeologist said diving for his pokemon. But he was too late the claw and the evil team had already gone off with our pokemon.

"Go Sudowoodo!" the man threw a pokeball containing a tree looking pokemon.

"Sudowoodo cut through these woods to help us find Geodude and Charmander!" he said to the pokemon as he pointed to the mass amount of branches in front of us. We made our way through the woods and found Team Rocket loading their Meowth balloon.

"Stop right there!" I ordered. Team Rocket froze where they stood, took a look at us, and then started loading their hot air balloon faster.

"Sudowoodo use rock throw and put a hole through the balloon!" said the archeologist. The rock pokemon lifted up a giant rock and hurled it towards the giant Meowth head as Team Rocket was screaming "NO!"

"Now you have no where to go!" I laughed. They looked at each other then started running off with Charmander and Geodude in their arms.

"Can't you two run any faster?" asked Meowth as he speeded ahead.

"Let's see you carry a pokemon as heavy as a boulder!" Jesse replied, struggling to keep Geodude in her grip.

"This isn't as easy as it looks!" James complained, as Charmander bite his arm.

"Hitmonlee jump kick!" a voice that sounded like the boy I fought with before, yelled from behind. We both turned to see Hitmonlee in mid air with his foot aiming for Team Rocket. Hitmonlee kicked them so hard they went flying off into the air and all three of them shouted "It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"You can thank me later," said Owen, with a smirk on his face.

"Thank you young lad, you saved my Geodude," said the archeologist.

"Yeah, I did didn't I?" Owen said stretching his arms up.

"Oh, please that Sudowoodo could've done it, we had it under control!" I remarked.

"Well, if it was your Sudowoodo you would've never seen that Geodude or Charmander again. You're lucky this guy was here," Owen said to me rudely.

"I could've sent Team Rocket flying off with my hands behind my back!" I bragged.

"That's only because your pokemon do all the work!"

"Um, thanks again, um, bye!" the archeologist said as he scurried off so he wouldn't see this get ugly.

We continued bickering with out noticing that the man left. Mr. Boxer walked up and just looked back and forth as Owen and I insulted each other back and forth.

"Alright that is enough!" Mr. Boxer pushed us away from each other. "Now I think you've said your lives worth's of insults. You two just met and you're already acting like you're an old married couple!" The blonde haired boy and I stood back to back, with our arms folded, and both of us knew he was right.

"Now you've stayed here long enough you should both head out to Cerulean City, where you can get your second gym badge," Mr. Boxer said to me. "And that's just near Saffron City where the KPFT is," he said to Owen.

"Fine, but I'm not going with her!" Owen returned his Hitmonlee to his pokeball, picked up his bag, and started walking towards Mt. Moon.

"Me neither!" I agreed. "Thank you Mr. Boxer, for everything," I said as I gave Charmander a piggy back.

I started my way towards Mt. Moon, and then spotted Owen also walking towards Mt. Moon. I could tell he looked back, but he didn't move his head. He stopped without looking back and then I stopped hoping he wouldn't know I was behind him.

"Why are you following me?" he said with out looking back at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to Cerulean City too," I called back. He finally turned around and looked at me while holding the straps of his back pack.

"Just don't bother me," he said turning back towards Mt. Moon.

"I wasn't even thinking of talking to you!" I said back running to catch up. I was then only about five steps behind him and he kept looking back at me the whole time.

"You got a problem?" I finally asked.

"It's kind of weird how you're just walking behind me, stalking me," he said.

"WHAT!" I blurted out. "STALKING YOU! IN YOUR DREAMS!"

He laughed.

Just then a Houndour appeared out of the forest that lined the path to Mt. Moon.

"He's mine!" we both claimed at the same time.

"I saw it first!" Owen poked my chest.

"Go capture a boxing glove fighter boy!" I pinched his arm.

"Charmander go!" Charmander leaped off my shoulders.

"Hitmonlee get him!" Owen threw a pokeball with his Hitmonlee in it. "Recall your Charmander now! Your face will just scare him off!" he insulted.

"No, I sent out Charmander first!" I argued.

"Hitmonlee high jump kick!"

"Charmander scratch!"

Both pokemon hit the poor Houndour. He went flying then landed on the ground with a loud thump. Next, we both sent out our own pokeballs but you couldn't tell which one hit Houndour. The pokeball wiggled back and forth for quite a while then, it was official, Houndour was caught. I flipped out my pokedex so I could identify if it belonged to me or Owen. The results appeared on the screen, the owner is……………….. me!

"YES! IT"S MINE HAHA I GOT A HOUNDOUR!" I celebrated.

"Congrats," Owen mumbled. He walked off. I ran to catch up to him, still holding my pokeball with Houndour in it, and I purposely showed a huge smile in front of him just to rub it in his little, annoying face! He didn't acknowledge it.

"C'mon tell me you're jealous," I got up in his face. He walked faster. "Are you really that mad?" I asked.

"I'm not mad just get out of my face!" he yelled.

"Sorry" I mumbled sarcastically. We continued to walk in silence.

"It will much easier to just walk around Mt. Moon," Owen pointed out, breaking the silence.

"That'll take days," I moaned.

"I say it's better than spending the night in a cold, creepy, slimy, dark, mysterious cave!" he said as he moved his fingers in a scary fashion.

I cowered down and admitted, "Lovely night to spend in the woods, eh?"

We walked, which seemed like forever, when finally Owen said we should set up camp. I collapsed right onto the hard earth, and spread my arms and legs out as if I was making a snow angle. Owen rolled his eyes as he flattened out his sleeping bag. I set up mine up on the other side of camp so I wouldn't have to hear that lug snore. I slipped inside of the cottony material bag and closed my eyes. I jumped from the obnoxious voice of Owen saying, "I hope the bed bugs bite." I puffed then rolled over and fell asleep.

"WAKE UP!" Owen screamed in my ear the next morning. I rose slowly from my deep sleep rubbing my ears. "I want to get to Cerulean City today so let's go!" he rushed me.

"Alright, alright," I yawned as I rolled up my sleeping bag. This thing was getting annoying lugging around.

The sun was just hit the sky as we set out for the day. I picked wild berries along the way and fed them into my mouth. My hunger wasn't satisfied with the lame amount of berries I found. My stomach gurgled so loud Owen heard and looked back at me with a raised eye brow. It wouldn't stop calling for food, so finally I reached into my bag for food, but there was nothing eatable in it! I pouted a fake cry until Owen offered me some of his food. I was happy, but I didn't say thank you. We walked for almost an hour in silence until I asked if he knew where he was going.

"I thought we weren't traveling together?" he teased.

"Well, for now let's just say I'm stalking you," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I knew it," he whispered to himself.

"Knew what?" I asked with my hands on my hips.

"You couldn't make it out here on your own, thank ho-oh you have me!" he wiped the dirt off his shoulder.

"Oh please," I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly we came across a stream and took a break to dip our feet in. I let out Houndour, Metapod, and Charmander from their pokeballs, and Owen sent out Hitmonlee and Lickatung. Lickatung and Houndour were the only ones who went in the water.

Owen and I sat on the cool, swaying grass and looked up at the pure blue sky. Charmander and Hitmonlee hit it off, but Metapod just sat there and listened to the other pokemon chatter.

"When are you going to evolve Metapod?" I asked myself out loud.

"How many battles has it been in?" Owen asked, and actually seemed interested.

"Um, well he evolved from Caterpie in my battle against Kirt. Then he won in a battle against a Jynx."

"Well, that's not enough to get him to evolve, he needs more experience points to evolve," he informed me. I nodded.

"Hey, will you battle my Metapod?" I brainstormed.

"Sure, I guess" he shrugged. We stood far apart forming our wilderness battle field, he and Lickatung stood across from Metapod and I, ready to battle.

"Ok let's start!" Owen announced. "Lickatung use body slam!"

"Metapod roll out of the way!" Metapod fell to his side and rolled out of the way just in time to dodge Lickatung's body slam. "Now use harden!" I continued.

"Lickatung disable!" Owen ordered. Lickatung stretched out his long tongue and gave Metapod a big, wet lick. It paralyzed Metapod!

"Oh no!" I cried.

"Lickatung rollout!"

Lickatung did a shoulder roll and barged right into Metapod. Metapod went flying and couldn't get up off the ground.

"Finish it off, Lickatung! Body slam it!" Owen told his pokemon. Lickatung launched into the air and started free falling towards Metapod. I see could sweat marks drip down Metapod's face, and mine.

"Metapod extreme harden!" I commanded. It looked as if Metapod grew another layer on his outer cocoon. It became as hard as steel and when Lickatung came down on him, Lickatung was the one that got body slammed. X's appeared in Lickatung's eyes showing that he was unable to battle.

"Lickatung return," Owen held up a pokeball that recalled Lickatung back to his nest.

"Good battle," I sad putting my hand out.

"Thanks, you too" he said shaking my hand. We pulled our hands away from each others quickly and both of our faces turned red.

"So um," he cleared his throat, and then laughed with embarrassment. "Should we get going again?" he asked with an awkward grin across his face.

"Yeah, we should," I said, proud of myself I didn't show a sign of embarrassment.

We recalled all of our pokemon back into their pokeballs and started walking for the billionth time. The sun was directly above us warming our faces. A slight breeze danced in the leaves, and there was a relaxing silence with only the chirping of Spearows in the distance.

The day came to an end and Owen said we'd reach Cerulean City by tomorrow. Once again, like every other night, we set up camp.


	7. Victory for Johnny

CHAPTER SEVEN

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Are you going to sleep like a Snorelax every night?" Owen asked me the next morning.

"What is that suppose to mean?" I asked raising my brow.

"You can't sleep until noon every day!" he exclaimed while tapping his foot impatiently.

"I do not! It's only 9:30 a.m.!" I protested.

"We got to get moving, c'mon Slowpoke!" he picked up his bag and started walking as I grinded my teeth in anger.

We walked what seemed like forever until we finally set our sights on Cerulean City. Small, quant homes shrouded the Cerulean Gym. It was a large, aquarium with numerous different water type Pokemon painted on the side. Then we saw a few trainers battling and one little boy with his head hanging down, sitting under a tree. His adorable bowl cut covered his hazel eyes. He wore jean shorts and a teal T-shirt with a Krabby using bubblebeam on it. We walked up to him and asked him what was going on.

"A few kids from my school decided to have a Pokemon battle tournament, but they said I couldn't join because I'm not experienced enough. They're all a year older then me," he sighed, looking out at the battling.

"Well, that's terrible! It doesn't matter how old you are! I'm sure you could kick all these guys' butts!" I shouted with my hands on my hips, full confidence in the young boy.

"I'm not so sure about that. These guys are the best bug Pokemon trainers around! I could never beat them!" he noted sadly then stood up, dusting the dirt off his shorts.

"Well, they are a year older then you, maybe you should battle someone your own age?" Owen suggested.

"This might be hard for someone of your comprehension to understand, since you aren't even a trainer yourself," I mocked crossly.

"I train my Pokemon to box," he spat.

"No matter what type of training it is, age doesn't give somebody an advantage or disadvantage," I argued.

"But they're older and more experienced, this little kid doesn't have a chance," Owen spat a puff of laughter, then looked directly at me, smirking widely. "Like you could never win against me, since I am a year older then you,"

"I did win against you, remember?" I asked getting frustrated, trying to prove my point.

"Alright kid, you are going to battle against the roughest, toughest kid out here and you're gonna win!" I shouted optimistically, wrapping my arm around the boy's shoulder. He just looked away in pity and shame.

"ALRIGHT WHO WANTS TO BATTLE AGAINST-" I began to announce, but then realized I failed to catch the young boy's name. "What's your name?" I asked him in a whisper.

"Johnny," he said ashamed.

"JOHNNY!" I finished. All the older boys laughed.

"Johnny is much too little to be battling against us, he might get hurt," the leader sneered, stepping forward from his battle. He wore a fancy, blue, stripped shirt and tan shorts to his knees. He had the same colored hair as Johnny, but it was slicked back with gel.

"Thank you!" Owen mumbled throwing his arms in the air, looking at me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I bet he could beat you," I seethed.

"NO!" Johnny reached his arm out at me, as I began to walk towards the confident boy.

"HA! I'm undefeated this season and I plan to enter the Grand Festival next spring. What has Johnny done? Had a few lessons at school and maybe one battle he won because it was against some mediocre novice?" he raised his thin eye brow.

"Well…" I started off, but then I stopped myself when the fancy boy stepped closer to me.

"You know, I bet you're quite the treat. How about we forget this little scene and get some lunch?" he took my hand and gave it a light kiss. I blushed and looked over my shoulder to see Owen looking away in disgust, he was just jealous.

"Well, that's very flattering. If you just gave Johnny a chance, maybe I'll give you a chance," I winked.

"Delightful!" he clapped his hands together. "Alright then Johnny, let's play!"

Johnny sulked over into his battle station. On the other end, the fancy boy, with fabulous taste in girls, stood on the opposite end ready to go.

"My name is Austin by the way," he shouted to me.

"Mine's Kylie!" I shouted back.

"Well Kylie, if I win you must agree to go on a date, with me," Austin grinned flirtatiously.

"And if Johnny wins you have to make sure not to exclude him anymore," I fired back.

"Deal," he agreed, then shouted, "SCIZOR IT'S TIME!"

He threw a pokeball containing a red bug Pokemon that was as tall as Austin. It had giant claws and wings on its back. Johnny threw a pokeball with a Butterfree in it, which he called Bumpy.

"Bumpy what kind of name is that?" Austin asked, looking back at his gang and joined them in a thunderous round of laughter.

"It was my father's when he was a kid and now it's mine!" Johnny shouted protectively.

"Well, name or no name, your Pokemon is twice the age of the oldest man on earth, so there's no way he'll win this scrimmage," Austin mocked.

"TAKE THAT BACK!" Johnny shook his fists angrily. "Bumpy, sleep powder!" he growled.

"Scizor, flap it away with gust!" Austin ordered. Scizor used his short wings to send the sleeping powder back at the Butterfree. Bumpy's eyes began to slowly shut from the navy dust particles falling upon him. Suddenly, the Butterfree plummeted towards the ground, but the harsh landing caused him to wake up and regain focus on the battle.

"Scizor, use cut!" Austin told his Pokemon.

"Bumpy, stunspore now!" Johnny commanded. While Scizor was in mid attack, Bumpy sent out an orange powder that caused Scizor to become immobile, cancelling out his attack.

"Great, now use whirlwind attack!" Johnny shouted swiftly. Bumpy flapped his wings and an intense gust of wind charged into the Scizor.

"Finish it off! Tackle attack!" Johnny continued to triumph in this match. Bumpy rammed into the beaten up Scizor and made it faint. I began to cheer extra loud to boost Johnny's confidence. Both of the battlers returned their Pokemon into their pokeballs. Austin walked over to the other boys and took a beating from their mocking. Johnny walked over to Owen and me with a big smile.

"You really think I did well?" Johnny gasped shocked.

"Yeah, you did awesome!" I ruffled his hair up a little bit.

"I got to hand it to you kid, you have some real potential," Owen complimented.

"Thanks," Johnny smiled. He looked over at Austin on the other side of the open area, getting made fun of by his friends, now Austin's head was hanging down.

"Yeah, you told that little kid!" one boy remarked.

"He never saw it coming!" another laughed.

"Hey leave him alone!" Johnny stormed over. "Sure he didn't win but that doesn't mean he's not a good trainer!"

"Thanks," Austin whispered silently to him. Johnny walked away with more confidence then ever.

"See how well I am at boosting people's confidence?" Owen stretched his arms up like he had a hard days work.

"Oh my god, you just said Johnny couldn't beat any of these guys before," I glared at him.

"You just can't resist me, can you?" Owen joked sarcastically.

"You must be kidding!" I shouted before storming away.

"I think that's a no," Johnny covered his cheeks to hold into his chuckling.

Owen shook his head at the boy, "John, you have so much to learn about women,"


	8. Cascade Badge Success

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

We spent the night at Johnny's house and his mother was really nice! She made a delicious dinner. His mother also made our beds and did all of our dirty laundry. She also stocked us up on Antidotes, Potions, and Pokeballs, and gave us plenty of food for our trip. I slept in the guest room while Owen slept on the floor in Johnny's room. The rooms were right next to each other, so I just HAPPENED to hear what they were talking about.

"Why do you and Kylie fight so much?" Johnny asked.

"Because she's annoying," he exclaimed. I grunted in disgust.

"I think you like her!" Johnny sung.

"You have so much to learn,"

"Then teach me!"

"Ok, the way me and Kylie fight is not liking each other fighting, it is hate each other fighting," Owen informed.

"Mm hmmm sure," Johnny said sarcastically. They stopped talking, or at least I think they did. Eventually, I fell asleep.

The next morning we all made our way down the stairs and sat down at the kitchen table. In front of each seat was a plate filled with eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, and hash browns.

"This looks delicious Johnny's mother," I said embarrassed I didn't know their last name.

"Please, sweetie, call me Mrs. Paterbug," she insisted. Owen sat next to Johnny ranting and raving about the KPFT. We finished our breakfast then I decided I couldn't leave with out battling Johnny first. He accepted. Outside on his front lawn we stood with our Pokemon out and ready to battle. He had a Krabby and I sent out my Metapod.

"Krabby get ready! Alright Krabby use bubble beam!" Johnny ordered his pokemon.

Bubbles shot out of Krabby's mouth and pelted Metapod's side.

"Now use crab hammer!" he commanded. Krabby charged at Metapod then clenched him in its claw, so hard a giant crack went down the side of Metapod all the way up to his eye. I ran out to him shouting, "STOP! STOP! STOP! NO MORE! NO MORE!" I held him in my hands rubbing near his eyes. I could tell he was in pain, since he was shaking and he kept closing his eyes for long periods of time.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for your Metapod to get hurt!" Johnny apologized as he sat down next to me.

"It's not your fault, I should've warned him… I could've told him…" Tears dripped down my face, and then as they hit Metapod gently, he started to glow. Rays of glowing brightness streamed out from his body. Then a Butterfree emerged from the cocoon.

"I-I think he's evolving!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Into a Butterfree," I finished. The Butterfree took shape and fluttered its wings. It called its name into the gentle sun and flew over to a tree and sat on a branch.

"Hi Butterfree," I welcomed it.

"Well, I guess our battle is over?" Johnny asked scratching the back of his head.

"Rematch, you and me, next time we see each other," I challenged.

"Alright, bring it on!" Johnny exclaimed.

So we said our good-byes and headed for the Cerulean City Gym, where I would face my next Gym battle, and try to get my next Gym Badge!

We stood in front of the door of the gym and looked at each other, then looked at the door once again.

"Are you sure you're ready? We can always turn back," Owen laughed.

"I'm ready," I said still looking at the door. Then I pulled the handle and stepped inside.

"Hello," a girl with a gentle face and red hair greeted us. She wore a yellow outfit and held a pokemon that sat in an egg in her hands.

"Wow, what type of pokemon is that?" I asked as I pulled out my Pokedex.

_Togepi, a Pokemon that is born by hatching from an egg Although most Pokemon that hatch from an egg shed it off, Togepi keeps its egg as protection and a place to sleep in._

"Are you the gym leader?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, my sisters used to be, but they won a trip around the world so now I'm stuck here," she said and sighed.

"Well, you are much to pretty to be a gym leader," Owen said with out blushing!

"Thank you," the girl did blush a little.

"First, what are your names" she asked.

"Owen Boxer," Owen said smoothly.

"Kylie Scorch, I'm from Pallet Town," I said glaring at Owen.

"I'm Misty and the boy I traveled with is from Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum?" she asked.

"He's my next door neighbor!" I said excited, starting to scarie Misty.

"So you've met him?" she asked.

"No," I put my head down.

"That is just like him! Some one moves next door to him and he doesn't even come home for one day to meet them!" she said all the sudden angry.

"It's O.K., it would've been awesome to meet him though. I'm a big fan of him," I said kind of embarrassed.

"How cute!"

"Alright, some one battle somebody already!" Owen said impatiently.

"OK this will be a two on two battle. Ready?" Misty asked standing on a platform with a big water battle field between us. There was many little islands in the battle field but it was mostly water.

"OK I choose Houndour!" I threw out Houndour's pokeball.

"A fire Pokemon won't give you much luck against my water Pokemon!" she warned. "Go Starmi!" she threw a pokeball with a pokemon in it that was shaped like a star and had a red gem in the center of it. I took out my Pokedex to see what it had to say about this water Pokemon.

_Starmi a water type Pokemon. This Pokemon uses its red gem as radar and has an excellent aim._

"Starmi use water gun!" Misty ordered. Water came out of the top point of the star shaped pokemon and rammed into Houndour's side. Houndour slide off the side of the platform and his butt went into the water. He let out a loud yelp and picked himself up back onto the platform.

"Quick Houndour bite it!" I said to my Pokemon. Houndour jolted over to Starmi's platform. Starmi tried to dodge the attack but Houndour's long canine teeth made contact. Except Starmi's hard exterior made my Houndour's teeth shatter! Houndour sat on the platform whimpering like a baby.

"Oh no, Houndour return!" I said as the red beam retrieved Houndour back to his pokeball. "Go Butterfree!" I said as I tossed up the pokeball with Butterfree inside.

"_Butterfree_!" it said its name.

"Butterfree use sleep powder!"

"Starmi jump in the water!" Misty called out to him. The pokemon jumped into the water and was out of sight. Butterfree looked around nervously not knowing where Starmi was.

"Butterfree watch out for Starmi!" I warned him.

"Now Starmi!" Misty commanded, just then Starmi spun out of the water and hit Butterfree. Butterfree hit the platform and lay there for a moment.

"C'mon Butterfree, don't give up!" I encouraged. Butterfree got up slowly and was quite beat up but I knew he wouldn't give up with out a fight.

"Now stun spore!"

"Starmi use water gun to wash it away!"

"Now tackle it quick!"

Butterfree flew down at Starmi and charged at it. Starmi went flying into the water but since it's a water Pokemon it seemed to refresh it.

"Quick sleep powder!" I said to my Butterfree. My heart pounded because I was afraid Starmi was going to pop up out of the water again, but it fell asleep floating in the water.

"Starmi wake up!" Misty was getting worried, but he was still sound asleep.

"Butterfree pick it up out of the water!" I told him, he looked back at me confused at what I was thinking about but he listened.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked confused also. Butterfree tried his hardest to try and pick Starmi out of the water but as he struggled to fly up wit Starmi in his arms, he dropped him and he thumped onto a platform. Starmi woke up but was still drowsy so I knew this was the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack.

"Butterfree tackle it!" I ordered him.

"Watch out Starmi!" Misty warned, but he was still too sleepy to pay attention. Butterfree rammed into him and sent him in the air. He came falling down into the water and was unable to battle any longer so Misty returned him to his Pokeball. Then she sent out a purple star shaped pokemon that looked like the evolved form of Starmi, it was a Staru.

_Staru is a water type pokemon and the evolved form of Starmi. It has the same red gem as Starmi and uses it for the same reasons, for radar and uses it for excellent aim._

"Watch out for this one's aim too Butterfree!" I warned him. He nodded back at me, but when he turned back around a shot of water gun hit him right in the face.

"Butterfree are you ok?" I asked concerned for him. He nodded back at me again with confidence. "Good use stun spore!" I continued.

"Jump in the water Staru!" Misty called out to him forming a cup around her mouth.

"Flap your wings so it gets there sooner!"

Butterfree flapped his wings fast and the powder flew forward faster at Staru and while he was still bobbing in the water the stun spore paralyzed him. He started to sink, "quick before he sinks pick him up again!" I continued to command this fight.

"Staru snap out of it!" Misty shouted at him.

Once again Butterfree struggled to carry Staru in his hands, he by accidentally dropped him and he splashed back into the water.

"Staru pop out of the water and spin tackle!" Misty pointed at Butterfree.

Staru them jumped out of the water and tackled Butterfree spinning.

"Don't give up Butterfree you're doing great!" I encouraged, "now tackle it back!" Butterfree charged at Staru and hit it right in the gem. A tiny crack went down the center of it.

"Gust!" I told Butterfree.

"Dodge it Staru!"

But it was too late, the heavy wind was every where in the gym. Staru went flying into the wall and was no longer able to battle. I WON MY SECOND GYM BADGE!

"Congratulations!" Misty shook my hand and handed me the badge I earned.

"Thanks! Wow it's so cool looking!" I said holding it my palm. So proud of my Pokemon for helping me earn my second gym badge.

"You earned it," Misty smiled at me, and it felt like she really meant it.

"Not bad for a novice like you," Owen yawned.

"What is that suppose to mean?" I turned to him and asked raising an eye brow.

"You couldn't even beat that Johnny kid!" Owen pointed and laughed. I became really angry my head steamed like a BBQ grill, I clentched my fists and grinded my teeth.

"Look she's turning into a lobster before our very eyes!" he cracked up at his own joke. Misty stood there laughing awkwardly.

"He didn't beat me! We never even finished our battle!" I protested.

"You knew you were going to lose that's why," he teased.

"Alright cut it out you two!" Misty put her arms out separating us apart. "I know how you feel I felt the same way when I was traveling with Ash," she whispered to me.

"Huh?" I asked suddenly calm yet confused.

"Not knowing if you hate him or like him, it can get confusing," she smiled and winked.

"Oh, right," I waved my hand girlishly and acted like I knew what she was talking about. She was really nice, and you could tell she has a thing for Ash, but let's get one thing straight I DO NOT LIKE OWEN! Why does everyone keep thinking that? Just because we happen to be a boy and a girl traveling together! It's beginning to get on my nerves.

"Thanks so much Misty. It was a pleasure meeting you," I shook her hand.

"Same. I hope we meet again," she flashed her warm smile once again at me.

"Knowing our destiny is set, we will see each other again. Remember me Misty," Owen said when he got down on one knee and held one of her hands. Misty leaned back frightened and embarrassed.

"Yes, um buh-bye now, Owen," she said as she pat his head, not knowing what to say or do in the awkward, but hilarious situation. We both waved as we walked out of the gym doors. But to our surprise when we walked out we saw a boy with blonde hair, a little darker then Owen's and a leather jacket on was outside on the sidewalk and sitting on a brand new green bike.

"Look who it is. My old friend Kylie," it was Zane the boy I met in Professor Oak's lab.

"You know this kid, Kylie?" Owen asked surprised like I wouldn't know a cool looking kid like Zane, in a leather jacket.

"Yeah, unfortunately," I murmured.

"Oh, ouch," Zane covered his heart with his hand. "That hurt. But not as bad as this will when I tell you I already have three badges!" he said with a stupid grin on his face, pulling on the side of his jacket showing on the inside was pinned three gym badges, two of the same ones I had, one I didn't.

"I'm only one behind!" I stuck up for myself.

"That one is a lot. Especially for you! If it's taken you this long to get two badges how long will it take you to get eight?" he smirked, putting his kick stand down on his bike. "What have you been doing all this time? Kissing your boyfriend?" he teased as he hopped off his bike, and nodded his chin up towards Owen. Owen and I both got mad my face turning red, and him softly punching the palm of his other hand.

"That's it! Want to battle?" I challenged him.

"It will only slow you down," he shook his dumb, little, pint sized head and looked down smiling.

"Afraid you'll loose?" I asked.

"Afraid I'll win?" he snapped back. It was a good fast come back, but I wasn't intimidated.

"C'mon all of our pokemon we have, right here, right now,"

"OK, first I choose Starly!" he threw out a Pokaball with a small, black bird Pokemon in it with a white spot on its chest.

"Then Charmander come out!" Charmander popped out of his Pokeball.

"Let's start this victory! Starly use gust to bring up all the dirt!" Starly flapped its wings and dirt stirred around the area. Charmander, Owen, and I coughed the dirt out of ours lungs, but the dust was still floating around, like fog near a beach shore in the early morning.

"Charmander use ember all around until you hit him!"

The little blasts of fire burned right threw the dirt, but when it made its way threw more dirt took its place, it was thick and everywhere! Ember was a failure no where Charmander could successfully hit Starly.

"Starly aerial ace!"

Starly was actually behind Charmander and rammed into his back with a hard hitting aerial ace. Charmander flew through the dust so far that I could no longer see him. Zane was doing exactly what Mr. Boxer said, use your environment for your advantage.

"Charmander don't give up!" I encouraged even though I couldn't see him. Then out of the dust I saw him flying back towards me, screeching his name in pain, Starly must've done another sneak attack. I caught him in my arms and said, "You deserve a rest," then I returned him to his pokeball. "Ok go Houndour!" I threw the pokeball with Houndour in it. He beamed out of the red light and howled into the afternoon sky. The dust finally cleared and I could actually see Zane standing across from me.

"Have anything besides fire type?" Zane said under his breath.

"YES! AND YES! I CAN HEAR YOU!" I shouted at him then laughing at my own tormenting to him. "Houndour use bite!"

"Starly dodge it!"

Starly flew up into the air dodging Houndour's bite attack.

"Use quick attack!" Zane told it, and with magnificent speed Starly stabbed Houndour's neck and then flew back up into the air. Houndour cried its name out with pain but I wasn't going to return him yet, I believe he can do it!

"Houndour I believe in you! Don't give up!" I cheered.

"Psh no way you can beat me I have three pokemon left after this. You might not even be able to beat my Starly," he smirked.

"Don't hold your breath!" I warned. "Houndour set the grass on fire!"

Houndour looked back at me nervously, but I nodded telling him to trust me. Using ember, Houndour set the whole field on fire, not including the area he was on.

"What good will that do Starly is a flying type he could flap up there all day!" Zane informed me.

"But when he comes down to attack how he going to get close to Houndour without touching the fire?" I asked folding my arms.

"Good thinking!" Owen complimented. I looked back and he gave me a thumbs up and I smiled back at him. I turned my attention back to the battle Starly was still flapping away struggling to keep its self in the air, while Houndour was surrounded by giant, intense flames!

"Oh, no! I didn't know it would get this big!" I said out loud to myself. I turned back to Owen who now went from happy face to worried face. I gave him a look asking what I should do, should I continue with Houndour? Butterfree could fly over it and not get hurt. It was one of the hardest decisions ever.

"Houndour return!" the red beam of light flashed out to Houndour and returned him to his pokeball.

"How many do I have left to beat?" Zane asked with his hands in his coat pockets.

"One," I whispered shamefully.

"Either give up now or let it face its doom," he exclaimed.

"I choose you, Butterfree!"

Butterfree came of his pokeball calling its name into the wind and stretching its wings. But then caught sight of the intense growing fire, and began to sweat and become nervous.

"Don't panic Butterfree you can do this!"

After I said that one of the many Officer Jennys came over to us with another man who had a two Squirtle by his side.

"Get away from the fire it's getting out of hand!" Officer Jenny instructed.

We backed away and both of the Squirtle put out the fire streaming water out of their mouth's. The fire fought back for quite a while but finally after a couple of minutes the fire was out. I felt bad and embarrassed since it was my fault the huge fire started in the first place. They let us carry on with our battle. He had four… I had one.

"Ready to finish this already decided match?" Zane asked with confidence.

"It's not over yet," I replied.

"Starly quick attack!"

"Butterfree dodge then sleep powder!"

Butterfree smoothly moved out of the way of Starly's fast quick attack. Then poured a light blue powder onto Starly.

"Blow it away with gust!"

But before the sleeping powder did its magic Starly blew it away. I gasped shocked, amazed at how fast his pokemon act to his instruction.

"Now peck!"

Starly gabbed Butterfree in the chest with its razor sharp beak, which it uses to pierce bugs with. Butterfree shook it off and got focused on the battle once again.

"Hang in there Butterfree, now tackle it!"

Butterfree attempted to charge at the Starly but Zane ordered it to peck at Butterfree once more, and when Butterfree got close enough Starly laid a hard one on him. Butterfree had cuts, bumps, and bruises, but he still hung in there.

"Butterfree your doing great don't give up!" I encouraged.

"Starly finish it off! Tackle!"

"Butterfree lo-"

It was too late, Butterfree was tackled like a football player. Butterfree tried his hardest to get back up but he was just too weak, he collapsed to the ground. I lost.

"Looks like the winner won" Zane smirked.

"Butterfree return," I returned Butterfree to his pokeball and then fell to my knees, ashamed and shocked I lost. I actually thought I would win against someone who already has three badges? I got back up and sulked over to Zane to shake his hand, to be a good sport.

"I don't want to catch loser-itis," Zane grinned like a dumb jock. "Smell ya later." He hoped on his bike and rode off, purposely splashing water on the sidewalk onto our legs.

"He just gets on my last nerve," I scowled.

"Don't let him get to you," Owen calmed me down putting his hand on my shoulder.

"C'mon, no more slowing down, off to get my next gym badge," I puffed and started speed walking for the next town, Vermillion City.


	9. Howdy Ponyta

**CHAPTER NINE**

We traveled for another two days without food, sleep, or signs of any life.

"Where is everything? We haven't seen one person or pokemon in days!" I asked the woods. It seems that my whole journey is just walking through the woods, but then out of the lush greens a girl on a horse like pokemon galloped over.

"Hiya, where ya'll headin'?" the girl asked with a southern accent. She had purple hair pulled back into two pigtail braids. She wore cowboy boots and a matching tan vest over a light purple shirt.

"Vermillion City," I answered.

"What's there?" she asked tugging on the reins of her Pokemon.

"The KPFT, ever heard of it?" Owen asked like it was an obvious question.

"Sorry, guess up here we don't hear much," she smiled.

Owen puffed in disgust.

"Well, I'm going to Vermillion to get my next gym badge," I said changing the subject.

"Are ya? My dad always dreamed of collectin' gym badges, he works up at the farm," she nodded her head behind her shoulder.

"Farm?" Owen and I asked at the same time.

We followed the girl to a small log cabin and further beyond was many fenced in fields, some were empty and some had horses that had flames as manes and tails.

"What are those?" I asked as I pulled out Dexter.

_Ponyta a fire type pokemon, if Ponyta does not trust you or hasn't known you long enough their flames will burn you._

"Watch out for their flames," the girl warned.

"I guess that Ponyta trust you," I pointed out.

"Oh yeah, we go way back. This was the first Ponyta I ever rode, and the only one. We're best pals," she said as she pet the back of Ponyta's neck.

"Good Ponyta," I said reaching over to pet the horse.

Out of no where the flame engorged my hand and I ran around screaming for my mommy. We went inside the small, log cabin home and dipped my hand in a bucket of water.

"She'll do that," the girl smiled feeling bad.

Owen laughed and looked back at him and stuck my tongue out.

"It's my fault. I forgot Ponyta needs to trust me first," I laughed embarrassed.

"My name is Myra by the way," she introduced herself.

"My name is Kylie Scorch and I'm from Pallet Town," I said.

"Owen Boxer and I'm going to enter the KPFT," Owen bragged.

After a long silence a man about forty with long brown hair and cowboy boots on ran into the room in a panic.

"Someone is trying to steal the Ponyta!" he said with a deep voice.

We ran outside to one of the biggest fenced in areas where probably twenty Ponyta grazed, but someone had disturbed them. Ponyta were running all over, some were fighting, and some were trying to break down the fence.

"What's goin' on here?" asked Myra.

"Prepare for trouble," said a girl from the fog.

"And make it double," a boy said in the distance.

"To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all peoples with in our nation,"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Jesse!" Jesse from Team Rocket jumped down from one of the fence posts.

"James!" James also from Team Rocket jumped onto the ground as well.

"Team Rocket," I said to Owen and Myra.

"Who are they?" Myra asked clueless of who they were.

"Who are we!?" Jesse repeated, "why we are Team Rocket!"

"Yes, the one and only!" James informed.

"We snatch up valuable pokemon and sell the little suckers. Even people this far in the woods should know that!" Meowth snickered.

"Well, you ain't getting' the Ponyta!" Myra yelled at them.

"I wouldn't bet on that!" James wagged his finger.

Then a giant net fell on top of all the Ponyta!

"Houndour, come out and teach them a lesson!" I said throwing Houndour's pokeball.

"It's war is it?" Jesse asked, throwing a pokeball with her Arbok in it. "Go Arbok!"

"Weezing smoke screen!" James threw a pokeball with his Weezing in it.

A thick smoke took over the air, it smelt like gas and tasted like poison. It burned the inside of your nose as if someone stuck a match up your nostril.

"Fearow use gust to clear the smoke," the forty year old man coughed from the smoke. Out the bright light of his pokeball emerged a giant brown, bird pokemon with an extremely long and sharp beak. The pokemon stretched out its gigantic wings and cleared the smoke, revealing that Team Rocket was somehow gone with all the Ponyta, except one!

"We'll never catch em' on foot!" Myra cried in fear of loosing all her Ponyta.

The one Ponyta had a determined look in its eye and pointed to its back. I assumed it wanted me to get on its back. Carefully and frightfully, I hopped onto the back of the Ponyta.

"Wow, it's not burning me!" I said surprised. "Go get Team Rocket!" I softly kicked the side of the horse pokemon's stomach with the heel of my foot. It took off like the start of a big race. The wind roared in my ears and my hair was glued back from the intense speed. After, sprinting down a hill we spotted a truck with all the Ponyta in a giant trailer attached on.

"Catch up to that truck," I instructed Ponyta.

It bolted up to the side of the trailer, Team Rocket must've been up in the truck, trying to get away with the stolen pokemon. With extreme caution I swung my other leg over onto the same side as the other. I leaped onto the side of the trailer holding on the wood frame for dear life. Ponyta kept beside me making sure I wouldn't fall and if I did she would be there to catch me. I inched my way to the front of it, where it connected to the truck. I found the hinge but it was impossible to undo. After moments of tugging and pulling and yanking it finally came undone. I almost lost my balance but I caught myself by holding onto the side of the trailer. The front half of the trailer crashed to the ground and sparks flew from the friction between the road and the bottom of the cart. When it finally stopped, Ponyta was standing near the back of it panting from all of the fast sprinting. I unhinged the door and all the Ponyta poured out like a heard of sheep. I hopped back onto the back of the tired Ponyta, and being the herder of the sheep, we brought the Ponyta back to the ranch.

"Thank you so much, Kylie, for bringin' back my Ponyta," Myra said hugging me.

"_Our_ Ponyta," said the man putting his arm around Myra, he must be her father.

"Thank this Ponyta," I said petting the one that helped me save the others. "Without it trusting me we would've never caught up to nasty Team Rocket." The Ponyta started to lick my face and I laughed.

Myra giggled.

"That one really seems to like you," she smiled. "How bout' you take it with ya?"

"Really? Well, it's up to you guys," I said hoping they would say it's alright.

"How bout' it pa?" Myra asked the man.

"I think it's up to Ponyta really," he said in his deep voice.

"What do you think Ponyta? Do you want to come with me on my journey?" I asked her. She licked my chin with her rough, slimy tongue.

"I guess that's a yes," Myra chuckled.

We said our good-byes and made our way for Vermillion City.


	10. Trouble at Vegetation Valley

**CHAPTER TEN**

"I'm going to die of starvation!" Owen whined as we walked in the woods that lead to Vermillion City.

"Maybe we can find a bakery," I moaned as I held my empty stomach.

"We're not going to find a bakery in the middle of the woods! I don't even know where we're going!" Owen said exasperated.

"What?! I thought you just said you did?" I asked frustrated.

"I did but I got distracted about my starving stomach!" he screamed in my face.

"Alright, let's just get to the nearest town, quick!"

We came across a weathered, rotten sign with faint, white letters that spelt out "Vegetation Valley." Beyond the sign were acres and acres of lush, green farm land with adorable cottages that sat on their plots of land. My face lit up when I saw the small village. It almost appeared that a heavenly light came down and shined onto the town. We jogged until we saw any building with food. As we speed walked we saw many vegetable gardens that were invaded and destroyed. It looked as if an animal had gotten in there and ate all the garden goods. Finally, we came across a bakery and I knocked on the door, that had a closed sign on it, repeatedly.

"I'm sorry we're closed," a middle aged man said as he stepped out of the glass door. He wore a white, clean apron and black, newly shined shoes.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat would ya, sir?" I asked him as my stomach growled.

"No, sorry, I can't bake with no flour," he said bluntly, then stepped back into the small store.

"WHAT?!" Owen jumped up in furry. "YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BREAD OR ANYTHING?! I'LL EAT CRAP IF I HAVE TO!!" he screamed as he took all his anger out on the door, banging on it with all his might.

"It's no use, Owen," I sighed.

We found a bench near by and sat on it listening to nothing but our talking stomachs asking for food. The sun baked us and I was ready to take a bite out of Owen when a man in a unbuttoned, tan, trench coat, green sweater underneath and brown pants walked up to us.

"Hello young travelers," he said taking out a pipe and lighting it up. "Hot day we have here, isn't it?" he asked us looking up at the blue sky.

"Umm… yeah," I said cautiously not knowing why this strange man walked up to us and started to talk to us.

"Why are you talking to us?" Owen asked rudely.

"Owen, could you be anymore rude?" I told him.

"I'm so hungry I don't know what I'm saying!" he jokingly said then got up and held his head, and began to wonder around aimlessly.

"So you're hungry, eh?" he said blowing out smoke from his thin lips.

"Very," I groaned.

"Well, here in Vegetation Valley we grow lots of crops," he told us.

Owen and I stood up expecting him to bring us some food. I think I even felt drool roll down my chin.

"But we don't have any," he said simply.

We both fell to the ground in disappointment and agony from our painful hunger.

"You both are pokemon trainers, eh?" he muffled, biting on his pipe.

"Yeah, but that won't get us food now will it?" Owen remarked.

"Maybe you can solve our problem," he said. Owen and I looked at each other confused. "You see Vegetation Valley is known for its delicious vegetables, fruits, and other grown crops. Four days ago all of our gardens and fields of crops were destroyed, something had gotten into them. Farmers were loosing profit and became angry. They said they'd shoot the next thing that steps into their fields."

I gasped.

"We realized a colony of some sort of pokemon must be eating our crops and it must stop at once! This has never happened before so there must be a reason why it suddenly started. That's the reason why the bakery has no bread, no wheat, no flour, no bread." He explained.

"That makes sense," I said.

"They come at night, we tried to stay up and stand guard, but they must've known we were there. They must be smart pokemon," he said blowing out more smoke. "So maybe you can help our town, eh? Are you willing to sacrifice time?" the man asked us.

"Sure we'd be glad to help!" I said jumping up happily. I always feel great after helping someone out.

"Kylie!" said Owen pulling me back down to the bench. "We can't waste anymore time, we have to get to Vermillion City a soon as possible," he whispered.

"I know, I know, but the least we could do is help figure out this one itsy bitsy problem," I said.

"Ugh!" Owen moaned.

"Great, you can have a stake out tonight!" he said excited.

The moon rose over the sun and the black took over the blue sky. Lots of stars shone bright since this town didn't have any street lights. The town was actually very quiet and you didn't see very many people. Owen, Butterfree, and I all sat up in a tree, perched on its thick branches, a waiting for the trespassers to come.

"My legs are killing me squatting like this," Owen complained.

"Sit on your butt then!" I snapped as I searched for the garden monsters.

"You're in the way! Stop hogging all the room! This isn't the biggest tree in the world!" he nagged.

I scooted over closer towards the tree trunk. I almost lost my balance so I quickly rapped my arms around the small tree.

"Butterfree go see if you can find anything," I told him.

"_Free_!" he nodded as he flew off into the night sky.

"Why did we agree to do this? Only losers stay up all night to see what's destroying their precious vegetables. Oooooooh where did my vegetables go!?" he mocked.

"Shut up, I think you're grumpy because we haven't eaten in days," I smirked. Owen was about to say something but then we both spotted something over the hill. Butterfree came flying over and below him was a heard of brown moles!

"What are those?" I asked out loud as I pulled out my pokedex.

_Diglett is a pokemon that lives underground. Because of its dark habitat it is repelled by bright sunlight._

"They're heading for our gardens! They're going to eat our food!" the man we talked to earlier yelled to us as he ran up to the tree.

"Butterfree sleep powder!" I ordered.

Butterfree shook a blue powder off its wings and sprinkled it on all the Diglett. They slowly started to fall asleep but there was so many! Hundreds and hundreds kept come over the hill. Butterfree kept using sleep powder and hung in there as long as it could, but it grew tired flapping its wings and trying to keep its self up in the air.

"Butterfree great job, return!" I called out as I returned him to his pokeball for a nice, long rest.

"How are we going to stop all these Diglett?" asked Owen.

"I don't think we're going to be able to, we need to find out why they suddenly started to invade the gardens. Something must be taking their food source away," I said as I leaped down from the small tree. "Houndour, Ponyta help us out!" I shouted as I threw both their pokeballs into the air. Ponyta greeted us with a neigh and Houndour howled at the moon.

"Alright, Houndour sniff out the Diglett's tracks and let's see where they're coming from," I said while I climbed onto Ponyta's back. "Owen, stay here and hold the Diglett off," I told him. He nodded.

I lightly kicked the side of Ponyta and we sprinted behind Houndour as he sniffed the ground. We ran and ran in the forest then Houndour pointed at this small cave with his paw.

_Diglett cave is where thousands of Diglett and Dugtrio, the evolved form of Diglett, live. _Dexter reported.

We trotted along side of Houndour, as we carefully approached the small cave. When we got closer I noticed a contraption blocking the entrance to the cave. It was a giant, silver car like machine that had two long arms and a net in the center of its body. A bold, red, R was painted on the hood of this machine.

"Team Rocket," I mumbled to myself. I returned Ponyta and Houndour to their pokeballs and cautiously stepped towards the metal monster. I skimmed my hand across the cold, smooth exterior then a voice scarred me right out of my skin.

"You are about to witness the new Team Rocket motto!" it sounded like Jesse's voice.

"It's new and better then ever!" that voice sounded like James.

A platform rose from the head of the contraption and standing on it was Team Rocket, with wide grins across their faces.

"What are you doing here?" I asked them not in the mood to listen to any lame motto.

"Listen is that a voice I hear?" Jesse softly spoke as she bowed her head down.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," James tried to look sensitive and deep by covering his eyes with his hand.

"I'm not in the mood to listen to your stupid poems!" I shouted to them.

"JUST LET US FINISH THEN WE'LL SHOW YOU WHO IS BOSS!" Jesse screamed while shaking her fists at me. "Ahem, anyway, floating on the wind!" Jesse continued casually.

"Past the stars!" James yelled and struck a pose.

"In your ear!" Meowth shouted as he jumped up into the air.

"Bringing chaos at a break neck pace," Jesse said striking a pose next to James.

"Dashing hope putting fear in its place," James said folding his arms.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet," while holding a rose Jesse softly whispered.

"When everything is worse our work is complete," James said also holding a red, rose.

"Jesse!"

"And it's James!"

"Meowth, now that's a name!" Meowth exclaimed throwing his arms up into the air.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place!" Jesse said with confidence.

"Team Rocket," said James.

"We're in your face!" Meowth shouted.

"That was worse then the first one," I chuckled.

They fell to the ground in anger and shock.

"I don't see you having a catchy motto!" James yelled out.

"Only classy people like Team Rocket can rhyme that well!" Jesse bragged.

"Well, move your stupid machine out of the way. You're blocking the Diglett cave," I told them.

"That's the point," James smirked.

"We snatch up all the Diglett and give em' to the boss," Meowth explained.

"Your making a village near by suffer!" I tried to tell them, but they would not listen.

"I'll show you suffering! Seviper go!" Jesse tossed out a pokeball with a black snake, and long pink tongue inside. It was different from her Arbok.

"Carnivine show her who means business!" James shouted as he hurled a pokeball in front of us. A cactus like pokemon formed from the red beam of light. It smiled broadly and showed its pointy spaced out teeth. It launched up into the air then opened its giant mouth and clamped it on James's head.

"Carnivine please do something besides snacking on my head!" James begged in pain.

"They may have a new motto and new pokemon, but they're still the weaklings of Team Rocket!" I said to myself and smiled at this hilarious scene. "Charmander ember!"

Charmander came out of his pokeball and unleashed streaks of fire at Team Rocket's machine. The net attached to the car like thing caught on fire and quickly started to make the metal hot. I didn't realize until now that some Diglett were captured and unable to escape the fire with Team Rocket's big contraption blocking their way. "What do I do!? Those Diglett will get hurt in that fire! How do I set them free?" I thought to myself.

One particular Diglett stuck its head out and had a worried look in its round eyes. I couldn't let them get hurt. So I jumped up onto the hot, melting metal, machine.

"AH!" the trio screamed.

"Move this away from the Diglett, they're ganna burn!" I screamed over the sound of the roaring fire.

"I don't think so," Jesse said pleased with herself and folded her arms.

"These Diglett are coming with us," Meowth refused to cooperate, all of them did. Avoiding the fire I swung my body into the drivers cabinet. Team Rocket, being them stupid selves left the keys in the ignition. The set up of the dash board and wheel looked very similar to a car. I never drove before but I've seen my parents do it all my life. I turned the keys and started the engine. The car rumbled and the wheel was hot to touch. But I stomped my foot onto the gas and I could feel the bottom of my shoe melt, but I had no time to worry about that. I zipped the machine away from the cave and alls I could hear was Team Rocket screaming above me. I took my gooey, melted sneaker off the gas petal and climbed out of the machine before it blew up! When I stood on the cars back with Team Rocket next to me, we were surrounded by fire! They hugged each other and shrieked in fear. While I tried to think of a quick plan, and save our butts.

"Do you have any water pokemon?" I asked hastily.

They all nodded their heads no.

"Butterfree use rain dance to tame the fire!" I chucked Butterfree's pokeball out into the open. Right away he started to fly around in the sky in all different patterns, he chanted his name and finally rain drops started to fall from the night sky. It became heavier and heavier, and the fire was getting smaller and smaller.

"Rain does not do justice for my hair!" Jesse cried holding her frizzy, red hair in her hands.

"Me neither!" James joined in the metal break through.

I jumped off the destroyed machine and finally landed on safe ground. Team Rocket followed. The machine sat there covered in soot and smoking. The rain let up and the trapped Diglett dug over to greet us. About twenty unharmed Diglett smiled as they poked their small, brown heads out of their holes.

The sun slowly began to rise and all the Diglett headed back for the Diglett cave, where they would live in peace with out Team Rocket blocking their home. I caught back up with Owen and the man who told us about the problem.

"Those Diglett should be safe and happy in their cave now," I assured the man.

"Thank you both for helping our town," the man smiled as he held a smoking pipe in his hands.

"Glad we could help," I beamed a bright smile.

"Now, can we get some food?" Owen whined.

"Just as soon as we get to Vermillion City!" I said.


	11. Hello, My Name Is Amber Relic

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

We finally made it to Vermillion City by nightfall. The streets were filled with nothing but late night fog and the dew on the grass just appeared. The cobble stone roads reminded me of old colonial times but they only lasted until we got to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy stood inside behind the counter and asked us why we were out so late.

"Well, we just came from a Cerulean City gym battle and my Pokemon are tired," I responded.

"So are we," Owen yawned.

"No problem, you can spend the night here. All Pokemon Centers are open for trainers to spend the night," she told us.

"Wow, that'd be great," I said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, thanks Nurse Joy," Owen said.

"It's no problem," the Vermillion City Nurse Joy flashed her warm smile, the same one the other Nurse Joys' have, but hers was so friendly.

I woke up the next morning and Owen was outside training with Hitmonlee.

Nurse Joy handed me my tray of pokeballs with my healed pokemon inside. And my stomach rumbled as she handed them to me. I smiled embarrassed.

"Sounds like you haven't eaten in days," the nurse giggled.

"To tell the truth Nurse Joy we haven't eaten a real meal in three days!" I put a little sadness into my voice so maybe she'd say the Pokemon Center's have food too.

"Well, there's a wonderful bakery just outside of town. It's in a small village called Tall Tales Dale," she said.

"That sounds great, but do you have any food here?" I asked not trying to sound rude.

"I'm sure Owen doesn't want to leave, he needs to train." I pointed out.

"I'm afraid the only other food in this town is a grocery store but that's just as far a walk as the bakery," she broke the news to me.

I collapsed to the floor in agony.

"Owen, the closest place to eat is out of town," I said as I walked out of the Pokemon Center and hoping he wouldn't go ballistic on me.

"Oh, ok," he said not seeming angry or disappointed.

"You're not mad? That we have to spend a lot of time walking there? While you could be training," I asked in shock.

"No, we'll run there, good exercise for Hitmonlee," he said taking off his boxing gloves.

"WHAT!?" I fell to my knees. "But I barely have energy to walk," I pouted.

"Suck it up!" he demanded.

I slowly got back up whimpering. He started running with Hitmonlee at his side.

"I know!" I did the "It's official" sign. "Ponyta I choose you!"

I threw the pokeball with Ponyta inside. She emerged out of the bright flash of the pokeball and neighed her name. I got on her back and kicked her tummy. She started to jog at a steady pace and we trotted along side of Owen.

"I'm exercising my Pokemon and not doing any work!" I laughed.

"A real trainer feels the same pain as their pokemon," Owen huffed.

"The only pain I'm feeling is feeling sorry for you suckers!" I laughed back at him as we sped ahead.

We reached a sign that said Tall Tales Dale and I stopped to let Ponyta rest. As she ate some Pokemon food and I climbed up a tree to see if I could spot Owen and Hitmonlee running, but the poor losers weren't in sight.

"Ha! Those guys are still back there running! Ha!" I laughed with Ponyta when I got back down on the ground.

We continued to gallop along and then FINALLY I saw the bakery! I ran up to the giant bay window and pressed my face against the glass. Drool dripped down my chin as I starred at all the doughy, delicious, warm, freshly baked, soft, tasty pastries. I burst through the door and to my surprise I saw Owen and Hitmonlee sitting at a table EATING PASTRIES!

"What are you doing!?" I stormed up to him. He swallowed a piece of bread and smiled his dumb smile at me.

"Eating," he chuckled.

"I can see that! How did u get here before me?" I screamed not realizing I was being loud.

"Pure, strength," he gulped down a donut.

"Give me some!" I grabbed for a donut.

"No way, this is for me and Hitmonlee, we earned it. We ACTUALLY ran here,"

"Ugh, but look at that line! It'll take for ever for them to bake it and everything,"

"You should've gotten here sooner," he grinned.

I sulked over into the line. My shoulders drooped over my body in agony of hunger and no energy, from no hunger.

"Next in line please," a man with a mustache, a chef's hat, and an apron on called.

"Um, yes I would like four donuts, a loaf of bread, three creamed filled pastries, and one raspberry Danish," I told him.

"That's a total of $13.45,"

I fished through my pockets for enough money, but I only had six dollars and twenty-two cents.

"One minute please," I quickly got out of line to ask Owen for more money but he was being stubborn and rubbing his food in my face.

"Wow, I am so full. I don't know if I can eat this last Danish," he looked up at me and popped it in his mouth. "Oh, I guess I can!" he muffled.

"I need more money I'm starving!" I shook by his shoulders.

"Alright, alright, here," he handed me a ten dollar bill.

"Thank you," I sprinted over to the baker and told him I had enough money to pay for my food.

"I'm sorry, but I'm already serving the next customer, if you get back in line I can take your order again," he shrugged.

Once again I got back in line and pouted. Owen was sitting at his table dabbing his mouth with a napkin. I grinded my teeth I was so angry he wouldn't at least give me something to live off of for ten minutes.

"I think I just had an earthquake in my stomach," I mumbled to myself holding my stomach. The girl in front of me heard me talking to myself and laughed at me. But I didn't care I was hungry enough to eat someone's scraps.

"Next!" the baker called out.

"Finally!" I said to myself. "I'll have four donuts , a loaf of bread, three cream filled horns, and one raspberry Danish," I recited my order.

"Alright, coming right up," he said with a very small smile.

About twenty minutes later I was still standing there, STARVING! He walked by the counter where you order your food.

"Um, sir, how much longer is my food going to take?" I asked him politely.

"What did you order?"

I told him what I ordered.

He went into the kitchen for a couple of seconds.

"I'm sorry but we never got your order, but if you get back in line we can take your order again," he said not remembering I already got back in line once before this. It wasn't as crowded as before but I still had to wait behind three other people. Is this the only place to eat around here? Outside Owen and Hitmonlee were practicing their kicks. I FINALLY got my food and stuffed it all in my face. When I was done I saved one donut for Ponyta. She licked the sugary glaze off it first then at it in two bites. Owen and Hitmonlee started running again and I got on back of Ponyta. We got back to Vermillion City and it was already supper time and I was hungry again.

"Are you sure you don't have any food Nurse Joy?" I asked holding my stomach.

"Well, there is some in the Nurse's lounge but patients aren't aloud in there, I'm deeply sorry," I could tell she meant it.

"It's ok," my stomach could talk for me it grumbled so much. I slowly walked outside where Owen and Hitmonlee were jumping rope.

"Shouldn't you be training not worrying about your stomach?" Owen asked gasping for air.

"I can't train on an empty stomach. I mean Pokemon are lucky they have a Pokemart in every town were they sell Pokemon Food," I complained.

"Don't you think they get sick of it though?"

"I get different flavors!"

"Why don't you at least let your pokemon out of their pokeballs? They've been in there for like the last two days!" he stopped jumping rope but Hitmonlee kept going.

"Alright, come on out everyone!" I threw all the pokeballs at once and Charmander, Houndour, Butterfree, and Ponyta all came out with a smile on their faces.

"See they're all happy getting their rest!" I protested to Owen.

"Maybe so, but if you were a good trainer maybe you'd actually think about if they're getting bored or not," he said with his hands on his knees.

"Bored? With me!?" I asked shocked. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Maybe you should go find a trainer to battle?" Owen suggested. I couldn't believe this. Owen was giving me advice and being nice about it!

"You're looking for a battle?" a girl walked up and asked us. She had long, wavy, red hair, glasses, and lip gloss perfectly spread onto her lips. She wore a stripped blue polo on top of a white tank top and green cargo shorts. I'll admit she was pretty.

"Yeah, are you?" I asked her returning all my pokemon.

"Yeah, it's hard to find trainers out here, which is surprising since the KPFT is in just a few days," she looked around at the empty streets.

"You know about the KPFT!?" Owen asked surprised.

"Yeah, my dad is a huge fan we come up here every year to see it," she told us.

"Wow, that's funny because I'm entering the KPFT," Owen panted.

"Well, maybe I'll see you there then," she smiled. "My name is Amber Relic by the way," she introduced herself.

"My name's Kylie Scorch," I said.

"Mine's Owen Boxer," he said as he shook her hand. They took a long gaze into each other's eyes and it kind of freaked me out a bit.

"So, how many pokemon do you have?" she asked me.

"Four," I responded.

"I only have two so want to do two each?"

"Ok, that's fine with me,"

Right in the middle of the road we set up our battle field. She sent out a blue pokemon with two antennas coming off its head with yellow balls on the tips of them.

"What's that?" I questioned.

_Chinchou is a water and electric type pokemon. It can discharge positive and negative electricity from its antenna tips to shock its foes._

"Alright then, I choose you, Ponyta!" I threw the pokeball containing Ponyta.

"This will be easy Chinchou so don't get discouraged!" Amber encouraged her pokemon. "Use bubble beam!" she instructed.

The bubbles hit Ponyta with intense speed and did lots of damage since she's a water type.

"Why didn't you send out Butterfree, he would've done better against a water type," Owen called out to me.

"Well, Ponyta hasn't been in a battle yet," I called back. I turned back to the battle and said, "Ponyta use tackle!"

"Now Chinchou use water gun!" water shot out of Chinchou's mouth and poured onto Ponyta's mane as she was charging in.

"Don't give up Ponyta I know you can do this!" I said to her as she shook the water off her coat. "Now use stomp!" Ponyta's hooves bashed down onto Chinchou's head and made it cry out for mercy.

"Chinchou, don't give in, use double team," Amber called out. Before our very eyes Chinchou multiplied into six other Chinchou. Ponyta looked at each one confused, not knowing which one was the real Chinchou. From behind her back Chinchou was ordered to use bubble beam and it did. Ponyta fell to the ground from the water almost putting out her fiery mane and tail.

"You can do this Ponyta!" I said to her. She steadily got up from the pavement. "Now use takedown!"

"Dodge it Chinchou!"

But it was too late, my Ponyta had already jolted over to Chinchou and rammed into it sending across the battle field.

"Chinchou get up!" Amber cried.

"Ponyta stomp it!" I commanded. Ponyta picked up her front two legs and pounded them down onto Chinchou's side. Chinchou lied on the ground and didn't at all try to get up, it was finished.

"Chinchou return!" she aimed the pokeball at Chinchou and retrieved it to its pokeball. She threw out a new pokeball containing a pokemon that looked like a sheep.

"Now, what pokemon is this?" I asked aloud as I pulled out my pokedex.

_Mareep an electric type pokemon, its fluffy coat swells to double when static electricity builds up. Touching it can be shocking._

Ponyta stood out on the paved road tired and worn out, after a little more battling I'll give her a rest.

"Mareep use thunder shock!" Amber called out. Bolts of lightening sprung from Mareep's body and jolted into Ponyta. Ponyta fell to the ground in pain from the sparks coursing through her body. I recalled Ponyta back to her pokeball and sent out Charmander.

"_Char_," he said out loud.

"Charmander, don't hold back! Use smokescreen," I told him. Just then, smoke started to drift from the flame from his tail. Soon, smoke spread from one side of the street to the other. If you looked down at your feet you wouldn't be able to see them.

"Don't let him get you, Mareep," Amber said to her Mareep.

"Charmander use scary face!"

Out of the smoke, right in Mareep's face a pair of giant yellow eyes shocked the living daylights out of it, so much she became to frightened to move!

"That's the way to do it! Now scratch!"

The yellow eyes disappeared in a flash and out of the clearing smoke was a giant claw that swiped across Mareep's face.

"Don't give up, Mareep!" Amber encouraged. "Now use tackle," with amazingly, fast speed the electric pokemon zipped over and hit Charmander with a full-body tackle. Charmander fell to the ground but didn't give up without a fight and got back up.

"You got this, Charmander! Use ember!" I cheered him on. Out of Charmander's mouth flew sparks of fire and pelted the Mareep on its wool coat.

"Now Charmander, finish it off, head butt!" I said forming a fist, confident we would win.

Charmander charged at Mareep perfectly parallel to the ground, with his shinny head pointed towards Mareep. Charmander's skull bashed into the Mareep and sent it skidded across the road.

"Mareep return," Amber said holding up Mareep's pokeball, "you did great you deserve a nice, long rest at the Pokemon Center," she said to the Mareep while it was inside the pokeball.

"Good match," I shuffled my feet walking over to Amber.

"So you must like electric pokemon?" Owen asked.

"I like any pokemon that's cute," she smiled. "I don't want to battle pokemon, the truth is I want to study fossils and pokemon's past."

"That always interested me too," Owen said and blushed a little because a tough kid like him wouldn't be interested in something geeky like that.

"Well, I'm planning on going to dig in Digglet Cave, you're both welcome to come," she insisted.

"I'm planning on challenging the gym leader tomorrow," I told her. She gasped. "Is that bad?" I asked concerned.

"This gym leader is very tough, almost all trainers come out of the gym sprinting to the pokemon center," she informed. I forgot to breath I became so nervous.

"I got to do more training, you kids talk," I quickly said as I ran to the Pokemon Center.

I ran into the nice air conditioned room where Nurse Joy, like usual, was standing behind the counter typing something on the computer.

"I need my Ponyta rested please,"

"No problem, it'll only take a couple minutes," she said not looking up from her computer.

A few minutes later she came out of two swinging doors and was holding a pokeball with my Ponyta inside.

"Here you go, she's all rested," she smiled.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," I said and smiled back.

I walked outside where Owen and Amber were standing next to each other laughing. My eye brow rose as I walked over to them to see what was going on.

"What's so funny?" I asked suspicious.

"Nothing, you wouldn't get it," Owen chuckled.

"Why, because I'm too young,"

"Don't flip out it's not about you or anything," Owen said as he gazed at Amber. Something was going on between them and I don't like it.

"Amber says we can camp out with her and her dad tonight," Owen said smiling, he looked so happy, and it was weird.

"Great," I faked a smile.

The night settled down on the horizon, and the stars popped out of the dark sky. Owen, Amber, Amber's dad, and I sat on logs around a fire and talked.

"So where are you two from?" Mr. Relic asked changing the subject from fossils, again.

"I'm from Pewter City," Owen answered. I dozed off not knowing that he asked us a question. Owen elbowed me in the side to wake me from my open eyed sleep.

"Oh, Pallet," I mumbled staring into the fire.

"She's an Ash Ketchum freak," Owen laughed. I continued to stare at the fire.

"That kid wasn't half bad," Mr. Relic poked the fire with a stick. "But what about that Richie kid? You should go gaga over him. Didn't he come in second?" he asked his daughter. She shrugged. I knew the answer to the question, but I didn't answer it. The group became silent again not knowing what to talk about. Finally, Mr. Relic and I went to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. The whispering of Owen and Amber buzzed in my ear. I felt like getting up and slapping that girl across the face. I don't know why I felt like this, and what was causing it. Was I jealous?

"But he's so lame," Amber whispered.

"I know but he can take a punch," Owen quietly laughed.

"That's terrible," Amber giggled and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Well, the guy tried to-"

"Will you guys just go to bed?!" I yelled from my sleeping bag facing away from them. They became silent, then as they set up their sleeping bags I heard Amber try to hold in a laugh, and was the last thing I heard from them that night.

We all woke up the next morning from rain pouring onto us. It began to thunder and lightening as we all ran under a tree. I pulled my windbreaker coat out of my bag and put it on my wet shoulders. Owen stood on the other side of the tree holding up his windbreaker over Amber's head. I glared at them evilly but they didn't notice they were too busy talking and giggling.

"Alright, I'm going to head over to the Pokemon Center," I shouted into the rain. They all stood under the tree staring at me, not looking like they wanted to come along. I didn't say anything else, I just started to walk into the pouring rain. I lifted up the hood onto my head and put my wet, cold hands into the cotton pockets. I starred at the rain bounce off the dirt ground as thunder rumbled the trees in the back round. Hoothoot hid in holes inside big oak trees and Buneary huddled in their burrows. I finally caught sight of the big P lit up on the Pokemon Center, when a giant lightening bolt came down and crashed onto the earth. It left a giant crack in the paved road. I became scarred and started to run to the Pokemon Center. As I ran more it seem to grow further away. Then, out of no where, another lightening strike came down right in front of my path. Chunks of paved road flew into the foggy air. The explosion of cement caught me off guard and sent me flying across the street. I was only about twenty feet away from the Pokemon Center but I was too hurt and too weak to get up. My eyes slowly started to shut, but then another thing caught me by surprise. A yellow, fur ball leaped in front of my absorbing a giant lightening bolt that could've killed me. As my vision became clearer I saw it was Amber's Mareep. I turned my head to see Owen, Amber, and Mr. Relic running over to me. Before they reached my side my eyes closed, and didn't open.


	12. Charmander Shocks Us All

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

I woke up to the smell of apples and then I opened my eyes to see a tray of food sitting on a table near me. It had a bologna sandwich, pretzels, and a cup of apple juice. I found myself lying in a bed with a white blanket on top of me and I was wearing one of those hospital night gowns. Then I realized I was in a hospital. I had many cuts on my wrists which made me look like a cutter, and under my left eye hurt real badly. I lifted my hand to touch my cheek and there was a bandage wrapped around my hand. I touched my cheek and it felt swollen and puffy, a chunk of rock must've hit me there. I didn't hurt much except for under my eye, but I was weak and didn't feel like moving. Through the window of my hospital room I saw Owen and Amber talking to a doctor. He looked young, had brown hair, bright, blue eyes, and wore a lab coat. He was actually pretty cute, I'm glad he's my doctor! The door knob started to turn and I shut my eyes and acted like I was asleep.

"I assure you, she will be fine. She just needs to stay one more night," the doctor said to Owen and Amber.

I didn't hear anything but feet shuffle on the floor for a couple minutes, then I heard the door open once again.

"We'll leave you alone," the doctor said, to what I assumed was to Owen and Amber.

I heard the screeching of a chair against the tile floor, and then I heard Owen start to talk.

"Oh, god please let her be alright," Owen sounded like he was worried sick. I rolled over in my bed but kept my eyes closed.

"Kylie?" he asked if I was awake. I opened my eyes and fluttered my eye lashes. I let out a fake yawn and stretched out my arms.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Oh, thank god, you had me worried to death!" Owen yelled.

"Sorry," I said weakly. His angered, worried eyes turned to a relived smile.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said softly and smiled. He put his hand near mine and we starred into each others eyes, and then stopped abruptly when the doctor and Amber walked in the room. Owen took his hand away.

"Kylie, hello I'm Dr. Vince, you're going to have to stay one more night, but you'll be welcome to leave in the morning," the cute doctor said to me. I just showed him the dumbest looking smile ever.

The next morning we left the hospital and went to the Pokemon Center to pick up my pokemon. As I walked up to the front desk a Venonat was rushed into the pokemon hospital on a stretcher. It looked very hurt, it had cuts and bruises, and its hair was sticking up from static. A young boy stood beside the Venonat with a very worried look in his eyes. Nurse Joy rushed over asking the boy what happened.

"I just challenged Lieutenant Surge," he said looking down at his Venonat.

"The gym leader?" I asked butting right in.

"He's tough, real tough. Him and his Riachu, they're like unbeatable!" he said looking at me with a serious face.

"We're going to need a paralyze heal and a potion stat!" Nurse Joy told the Chansey. It hustled away to the storage room.

"That's where I'm going next," I mumbled to myself, but the boy must've heard me.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to beat him," he whined.

"Might as well turn around right now," Owen teased.

"I can beat this guy!" I said with confidence.

"You couldn't even beat the first gym leader without my grandpa's help," he pointed out, "I guess you'll need my help this time,"

"I don't need you,"

I walked over to Charmander who was sitting on a waiting chair eating a pear. Pears are his favorite snack.

"How are you, buddy?" I asked him as I sat down next to him.

"_Char_," he said smiling up at me.

"Are you ready to beat that Surge guy?"

He nodded his head no nervously.

"C'mon we can beat him!" I said enthusiastically.

Chamander crossed his arms stubbornly. He already made up his mind, he wasn't going to battle.

"Charmander, please I know you can do it!" I encouraged.

He turned away.

"Don't make me drag you there," I threatened.

He didn't say or do anything. I grabbed onto the middle of his tail and started to pull him towards to door. He tried to grasp onto the chair leg but he just pulled it with him.

"C'mon Charmander, trust me we can beat him," I said still tugging him. I managed to pull him to the front door where I pulled on his legs and he held onto the door handles.

"Are you sure you should force your pokemon to do this?" Owen asked with his arms crossed just watching. "I mean, everyone is starring at us," he said embarrassed.

"If Charmander just cooperated we'd be in the gym by now," I said nice and loud so Charmander could hear. I let go of his legs but he still managed to land on his feet and then he ran back inside. Finally, I got so sick of this I put Charmander back into his pokeball.

"You're not being very nice to your Charmander," Owen said concerned for Charmander.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked throwing my arms into the air.

"Did you try talking to him?"

"Yes,"

"Nicely?" he said raising an eye brow.

"Ugh, fine," I threw the pokeball with Chamrander still upset with me inside.

"Charmander will just talk to me?" he looked away. "I'm sorry I tried to force you to battle," I apologized. He looked up at me and smiled with forgiveness.

"Will you try to beat Lieutenant Surge with me?" I asked.

He nodded yes.

Owen and I with Charmander at my side walked up to the giant pokemon gym. It had giant lightening bolts that went from top to the bottom on the sides of the doors, and a mural of a Riachu was painted on one of the walls. I gulped in fear and looked down at Charmander. He looked petrified starring into the clear glass doors where you saw a pokemon battle field inside. I looked back at Owen who was starring at the giant mural of the electric mouse and then I put my hand around the door knob. It seemed to be stuck and I had to use all my body weight to get it open. Finally, we stepped into the giant, open, air conditioned room. Inside one of the trainers' boxes on the battle field stood a very tall, buff, blonde man who wore a red shirt and brown vest on top of it and matching brown, cargo pants.

"Are you here to challenge me with that wimpy Charmander?" the man asked. With his muscular arms folded.

"Yes, yes I am," I answered.

"Well then, this won't take long. This will be a one on one battle, any questions?"

"No," I said sternly.

"Then let us begin, Riachu body slam!"

His Riachu stomped out into the middle of the field where Charmander shivered in fear. Riachu launched up into the air and started to free fall towards Charmander. Charmander shrieked and sprinted towards me and Owen. He cling onto my leg for his life and panted in exhaustion.

"Looks like he's running back to his mommy," the gym leader laughed. "You should evolve that Charmander right away, it's not worth anything until it's a Charizard."

"Charmander could beat your Riachu with his hands behind his back!" I yelled. "He just doesn't have a lot of confidence."

"Why should he? Just look at my Riachu, and then look at your Charmander," he mocked.

"You can do this. Think of all the work we've done to get this far. Think of what we've been through. This only the beginning, we have a lot more battles and a lot more challenges to beat. We can't let this guy scare us," I told Charmander. He eased his grip on my leg, and then smiled up at me. I knew he was ready to fight. He let go of my leg and ran out in front of Riachu. They glared into each others eyes and grinded their teeth.

"Riachu thunder punch!" Lieutenant Surge yelled.

"Burn his hand with ember!" I quickly called out. Charmander shot fire out of his mouth and hit directly onto Riachu's punch. The force between the two attacks caused a huge explosion! When the smoke cleared both of the pokemon were a little beat up but they seemed to be able to go on.

"Quick Charmander, scratch!"

"Riachu, iron tail!"

Riachu's thin, black tail with a lightening bolt at the end lit up and swung at Charmander with intense speed. Its tail whipped Charmander right across the face and set him tumbling to the ground. He weakly got back up but knew this was only the beginning.

"Riachu finish it off, thunder shock!"

Tiny bolts of electricity bounced off Riachu's yellow cheeks and then he unleashed a loud scream and enormous bolts of thunder throughout the room. They lightening bounced off the walls and were finally absorbed into the ground. Charmander yelped in pain as electricity surged through his body.

Charmander growled in anger and his flame on his tail grew bigger and hotter. Flames appeared in his eyes and he extended his claws in furry. Out of no where Charmander leaped up into the air and started to fly towards Riachu. Riachu and Lieutenant Surge stood there in shock of Charmander's sudden boost in confidence.

Charmander bashed his flaming tail into Riachu's stomach and then slashed his cheeks. It was the most power I had ever seen out of Charmander and it amazed me. I was proud and surprised at the same time. Riachu fell to the floor and was beaten up so bad Lieutenant Surge returned him into his pokeball. Charmander ran over to me and I squeezed him tighter then ever. Tears rolled down my cheeks because of my happiness and the gym leader walked over to my celebration with a gym badge in his hands.

"A pokemon with that much power and confidence defiantly deserves this badge, and its trainer too," he handed me the badge and I held in my hands in awe. I showed it to Charmander and told him that he earned this. He smiled at me and hugged my leg like he always does. But I find it the cutest thing in the world.

"See without me here you would've never gotten that badge," Owen said as we walked out of the clear, glass doors.

"What are you talking about? Charmander did all the work," I argued. At this point Charmander was resting in his pokeball.

"I'm your good luck charm," he stretched his arms up all full of himself.

"I'd have more luck if you weren't here," I mumbled and smiled at my own joke.

"Me and my Hitmonlee won't need any luck," he bragged.

"You'll need a vacuum to suck all that air out of your head," I chuckled.

"You'll see, tomorrow you'll be eating your words," he said.


	13. Kanto Pokemon Fighting Tournament

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

The next day Owen got up bright and early to train even more with Hitmonlee! All their training woke me up so slid out of my sleeping bag and cooked some eggs.

"Shouldn't you let Hitmonlee rest?" I asked as I scrapped the eggs onto some plates.

"I can't let his muscles relax or they'll poop out half way through," he said holding a cushion that Hitmonlee threw kicks at.

Today was the big day. The day Owen had been training for, for weeks. The day he and Hitmonlee would be put to the test and fight against other pokemon for the title of KPFT Champion and go on to the Hoenn Pokemon Fighting League, and if they won that they'd go onto the Sinnoh Pokemon Fighting Championship. I know this because that's all he ever talks about.

After breakfast we walked over to the stadium where the tournament would be held. He had no problem walking right inside and he didn't seem at all nervous. I get nervous before every battle, but I guess he doesn't let it get to him. He went back to the locker room where all the other pokemon and their trainers stayed until it was their turn to fight. The tournament wasn't starting until another 45 minutes but Owen wanted to get there early. As I made my way to my seat, surprisingly there were already a lot of people there. The voices of the fans roared throughout the stadium and some teenage boys were stomping on the bleachers. I found my seat and sat down. I had a pretty good seat that saw a perfect side view of the fighting ring. I looked around at all the people and some of them were absolutely crazy. Some people had their faces painted, some were dressed up like their favorite pokemon fighter, and I even saw one group of men who had no shirts on, and on each of their stomachs their was a letter that spelt out their favorite pokemon.

I sat there alone for a while and just looked around at all the crazed fans. I got up and bought a T-Shirt that said "KPFT" on the front of it, and "It's a knock out" on the back. I put it on over my tank top and went back to my seat. When I got there I saw two people sitting next to my seat. The girl had red hair and glasses and the man had grayish black hair and a foam finger. When I finally started to make my way through the row of people I realized it was Amber Relic and her father!

"Hello," I greeted them politely.

"Kylie, well isn't this a coincidence! How are you feeling?" Mr. Relic asked.

"Fine, you?"

"Oh, we're fine," he smiled, he seemed extremely happy.

"How's Owen?" Amber asked.

"Fine," I said. The first thing she says to me is "How's Owen?" C'mon how obvious could you get!

"I would be nervous if I were him," she giggled.

"Um, yeah," I said rudely. I wasn't going to give this girl the light of day. She just rubbed me the wrong way.

Time passed slowly and Amber and her father chatted while we waited for the tournament to start. Finally, an older man in a black and white stripped referee shirt stepped into the ring. He had a short blackish grey hair, almost the same as Mr. Relic's and he had a mustache just like my father's.

"Hello Vermillion City!" he yelled enthusiastically into the microphone. The crowd went wild and a row of teenagers behind us got out of their seats and went ballistic. I just clapped softly while giving Amber an evil glare.

"Are you ready to see some of the greatest pokemon fight in this here arena!?" he asked punching the air above him. The crowd yelled yeah, and the teenagers behind us stomped on the bleachers.

"Well then, welcome to Kanto Pokemon Fighting Regional Tournament. Who ever triumphs here today will have the privilege to compete in the Hoenn Pokemon Fighting League. And if they win there, they will compete in the Sinnoh Pokemon Fighting Championship!" he informed us. "Are you ready for the first round?" he asked. The crowd went wild once again. "In this corner, standing four feet seven inches, weighing 105 pounds, Hitmonlee!" he announced. Everyone clapped and a few cheered. Amber got up out of her seat and yelled "Go Owen!"

"And in this corner, standing five feet three inches, weighing 290 pounds, Machamp!" The crowd went wild for Machamp as he flexed his giant, rock hard muscles. I saw both trainers give their "before fight pep talk." Owen massaged Hitmonlee's shoulders as he told him some inspiring words. I wish I knew what he said but the audience was too loud. The bell rang and the two pokemon stepped out onto the ring floor. Hitmonlee bounced back and forth on his two feet, as Machamp stood their like a brick wall. Hitmonlee kicked Machamp's ribs then with the other foot he kicked his cheek. Machamp rubbed his ribs with one arm and face with the other. Hitmonlee backed away still bouncing on his feet.

This was a very different way of battling. The pokemon were out there in the ring all by themselves, and the trainers barley called out any orders. I was used to play by play, action battling. I guess this had a lot of action.

Machamp stomped over near Hitmonlee and swung a punch at him. Hitmonlee quickly duck and then tripped Machamp by swinging his leg under Machamp's feet. It was a sneaky yet brilliant move, and the crowd loved it. Machamp shook the entire arena when he fell to the ground.

"1..2…3…" the announcer counted. But Machamp got right back up.

Hitmonlee right away flung a fast kick right for the center of his stomach and sent Machamp flying into the ropes that surrounded the ring. With his momentum from bouncing off the ropes, Machamp threw a punch right into Hitmonlee's side.

"Hitmonlee, remember your stance!" Owen called out from the side.

Hitmonlee fixed his foot work and then launched up onto a post that held up the ropes. He jumped down with his foot charging for Machamp. It rammed right into his ribs once again and sent Machamp collapsing to the floor.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9….10….. He's out of here!" the announcer declared. The crowd went wild for Hitmonlee's victory. It looked like Owen's hard work paid off and Hitmonlee grew a few fans.

We sat through a few more rounds of pokemon fights, but we knew Owen was moving onto the semi-finals. The announcer walked back into the middle of the ring and spoke into the microphone.

"Moving onto the semi-finals is Elroy and his Hitmontop!" the crowd roared for him and his pokemon. "Ryan and his Hariyama," the crowd slightly cheered, "Owen and his Hitmonlee," the crowd cheered more then they did for Hariyama, but not as much as Hitmontop. "And last but not least, Lieutenant Surge and his Riachu!" the crowd cheered for them louder then they did for Hitmontop. The teenagers behind us and wooed extremely loud.

"Now we will announce who will be facing each other next. Ryan and his Hariyama will face against Owen and his Hitmonlee. While Elroy and his Hitmontop face off against Surge and his Riachu!" the crowd roared once again. A short intermission was placed and almost everyone got up from their seats. The teenagers behind started a chant "Surge and Riachu! Surge and Riachu!" they got almost half the audience to chant. There were a lot of Lieutenant Surge fans there.

"Sit down!" Amber ordered the teens.

"Why? We all know that Surge is going to kick butt!" a boy said giving his friend a high five.

"Owen will most defiantly win!" Amber snapped her fingers.

"Honey, sit down," Mr. Relic told her sternly.

"Did you see how he beat that Machamp?" she asked still going on.

"We'll just see in the ring!" the boy challenged.

Everyone made their way back to their seats and Owen paced back and forth near the ring. I guess he was nervous now.

"You got this Owen!" Amber yelled aloud.

"You're very pepped up today, aren't you?" I asked her.

"It's not everyday you have a close friend in a competition like this!" she smiled. I let out a fake giggle. What does she mean "close friend"? She's known him for four days! The announcer stepped into the ring to announce the next round of fighters.

"In this corner, we have Haryiama," the announcer yelled into the microphone pointing towards the corner closest to us. "And in the corner is Hitmonlee!" the crowd cheered as the bell rang and the pokemon walked into the ring.

Hitmonlee made the first move by kicking Hariyama in the shins. Hariyama bent don't to rub his bruised leg so it was the perfect chance to kick him once again. He swung his leg over the back of the fighting type pokemon and crashed it down into its spine. It fell to the ground and grunted in pain. Hitmonlee didn't celebrate just yet. While Hariyama was on the ground he tripped Hitmonlee. He struggled to get up quickly, but he grabbed a hold of Hitmonlee's ankles! He began to spin him around amazingly fast for a pokemon of that size.

"HITMONLEE LET LOSE OF ONE OF YOUR LEGS AND KICK HIM!" Owen called out to help. But Hitmonlee couldn't do it. He was trapped in the whirlpool of air that roared in his ears. Hariyama finally let go of Hitmonlee's legs and sent him flying into one of the posts. Hitmonlee had his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them and rubbed his head.

"1…2…3….4….5…" the announcer counted.

"C'mon get up, Hitmonlee!" Owen encouraged.

Hitmonlee slowly got up and didn't seem in the condition to fight. But suddenly, it looked as if Owen's inspirational words repeated in his head. He had a sudden boost of energy and charged at Hariyama. He faked left, and hit Haryiama's big gut with his right. He did his tripping technique then did a final squash on the center of his back, to make him stay on that floor.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10! He's out of here!" the announcer declared Hitmonlee the winner!

The crowd cheered gleefully and loudly. The announcer lifted Hitmonlee's arm in the air to represent his victory. Owen and his Hitmonlee took a rest while Surge and his Riachu took on Elroy and his Hitmontop. Even though Hitmontop was fast, Riachu crushed him with his body slam. Surge and Riachu won that round, so it was down to two competitors, Owen and Lieutenant Surge.

I could see Owen giving another pep talk to Hitmonlee, gabbing the air to demonstrate. While on the other side of the stadium, Surge sat in a comfy lounge chair watching a miniature T.V. He didn't seem to care about this competition as much as Owen did. This meant the entire world to Owen. A woman with a soft, young voice came over a loud speaker and said the next round would begin momentarily. The announcer stood in the center of the ring once more and started to yell into his microphone.

"Are you already to see who will win this thing?" the crowd went crazy jumping up and down, whistling, stomping on the bleachers, and the boys behind us started chanting "Surge! Surge! Surge!"

"Alright, let's begin the end of this KPFT. In this corner, Lieutenant Surge's Riachu!"

The teenagers behind us stomped on the bleachers and chanted his name louder. Amber looked back at the boy she argued with before and gave him a look that said "Sit down, right now!"

"And in this corner, Owen Boxer and his Hitmonlee!" this time I cheered for him, and to my surprise almost half the crowd also cheered for him. Even some people banged their feet on the bleachers. Owen and Surge stepped into the ring along side their pokemon. They shook hands and Hitmonlee looked like he tried to say good luck, but Riachu ignored him. Riachu was a jerk just like his owner.

The bell rang, Hitmonlee bounced on his feet but Riachu planted his feet, and stood strong and tall. Riachu charged electricity within his palm. He growled in furry and swung his punch right into Hitmonlee's stomach. Hitmonlee stumbled but shook it off. Electricity didn't do much to fighting type pokemon. Hitmonlee swung his leg up high aiming for Riachu's face. Suddenly, Riachu surprised Hitmonlee by quickly blocking his attack then sending another punch towards his stomach. Hitmonlee used his momentum from bouncing off the ropes by kicking Riachu right across the face. His yellow, round cheeks became swollen, but Lieutenant Surge didn't care. He told him to keep fighting. I guess he really does care if he wins or not.

Hitmonlee used Riachu's flinch to his advantage and kicked him right in his gut. Riachu almost fell to the ground, but he caught himself with his paws. He got back up and amazingly fast swung a punch at Hitmonlee. Both of them were getting hit quite a lot. I covered my eyes when I saw Riachu sending many punches into Hitmonlee's ribs. When I uncovered my eyes, I saw Amber grasping the edge of her seat. It looked like she was worried for Hitmonlee too. To my surprise I heard a faint chant in the back ground of the echoing punching noises. A chant that was saying, "Hitmonlee! Hitmonlee! Hitmonlee," I joined in with the chant, Amber, then Mr. Relic, and then a lot more people did too. But the boys behind us became angry and started a chant for Riachu. It began to over power the chant for Hitmonlee. Everyone got intimidated and stopped, and then Riachu's name echoed in the stadium.

Hitmonlee looked tired. He stopped bouncing back and forth on his feet. He began to miss a lot of kicks, and he got hit a lot. He was loosing his form as Owen might say. I'm sure the chant for Riachu didn't boost his confidence either. Hitmonlee then threw another kick in Riachu's path, and he got him right in the throat! Hitmonlee got him again in the stomach. His confidence was boosting as he got better, and got more hits. Finally, Riachu was weak enough to pull out the secret weapon. Hitmonlee leaped up onto the post. At first Riachu wasn't afraid but when Hitmonlee jumped off and spun in a 360 with his leg reaching out, he cowered down. Hitmonlee spun in mid air swinging his leg at Riachu. It kicked him right in the ribs and Riachu collapsed to the floor. Lieutenant Surge commanded his pokemon to get up, but Riachu sat there motionless.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9..." Riachu tried to pick himself up, but he just pooped out and fell to the floor once again. The announcer started to recount and Riachu didn't move, and this time he got all the way to ten.

"Hitmonlee wins!" the crowd screamed like mad! Even the boys behind us got up and clapped. The announcer lifted Hitmonlee's arm in the air once again, and Owen stood on the outside of the ring, motionless and shocked. When Hitmonlee came over to him I could have sworn I saw tears run down his face when he hugged his pokemon champion. Owen walked to the center of the ring and accepted his trophy. It was only about 8 inches tall, but it was better then nothing. Hitmonlee got a metal and they placed it around his neck.

"Owen Boxer you and your Hitmonlee will be participating in the Hoenn Pokemon Fighting League!" the announcer congratulated him and dismissed the audience. When the crowd finally cleared the building we met up with Owen and Hitmonlee. Amber, excited to see Owen, ran over and held him in her arms.

"You did such a good job, Owen!" she said, then she did something that made me steamed. She planted a peck right on the side of his cheek! Owen blushed then backed away, in embarrassment. I felt my heart sank to the bottom of the ocean, like the Titanic. I felt like time froze and just sat there and starred at the congratulatory kiss. Or was it more then just congratulations?

"Thanks," he mumbled, touching the place that Amber kissed his cheek, some what smiling. I couldn't tolerate this. I just stormed out of the stadium.

I stopped on the sidewalk and thought to myself, what is happening to me? Am I becoming one of those jealous brats that just storms off? Who does anything to get their man? Hold up, Owen is not my man! I've known him for like only a month!

I stood there for a couple more minutes by myself, trying to control myself and figure out what the heck is making me act this way. They all came out of the stadium like nothing major had just happened, although, Owen was looking down at the ground, shuffling his feet. We said our final good-byes to the Relics and began our way to Saffron City, where I would get my next gym badge!


	14. The Butterfree Paradise

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Grass tickled my knees as we wondered through the dry, itchy grass. Trees bordered the grassy path and the sun was just above the hills on the horizon. A baby Ekans slithered over my feet and frightened me so much I grabbed onto Owen's arm who was walking right behind me. His arm was small yet muscular, not like a wimpy geek's arm would be.

"Chill it's just an Ekans," he told me.

"Right," I blushed letting go of him.

"What the heck is that house doing out in the middle of the woods?" Owen asked pointing forward. I turned around and saw a small, brown, cottage. In the back yard there was a giant green house, that was bigger then the house its self, filled with plants. When we got closer to the old home you could see many Butterfree flying around in the green house. Lots of them were snacking on nectar while others played tag. They all looked so happy. There was an old woman in a pink sun dress and her grey hair put up in a tight bun gardening in the front yard. She turned her head and saw us heading towards her randomly placed house. She slowly got off the ground, took off her dirty gardening gloves, and smiled at us.

"Morning children," she happily greeted us.

"Good morning," I responded with a smile.

"Hello," Owen politely said.

"Where are you two beautiful children heading?" she asked with a smile from ear to ear. Her voice was shaky and she was propped up with a cane, she was obviously very old.

"Saffron City," I answered.

"I've never been there but I have heard it is quite unique," the old women said "Now what names belong to you, children?"

"Kylie Scorch, it's very nice to meet you," I said with a sweet voice.

"Owen Boxer," Owen answered charmingly.

"My name is Tabitha," she said. "Come inside and have some of my scrumptious lemonade," she waved her hand towards the door.

The inside of her house was decorated elegantly with many flowers and floral designed fabrics. The old rustic hard wood met us at the door but a shiny, white tile started in the kitchen. Tabitha showed us our seats then poured us some lemonade from one those plastic, flower covered pitchers. She poured herself some then slowly let herself meet the chair. She had trouble sitting down and getting up, so I was surprised to see her garden.

"So where are you two from?" she asked then sipped her lemonade.

"I'm from Pallet, I moved there not to long ago from Petalsburg City," I cheerfully answered.

"I come from Pewter City," Owen muffled speaking through his glass.

"Are you the young gym leader there?" she asked like she knew he was.

"Oh, no," Owen chuckled. "That's not me,"

"Why do you have that giant green house?" I asked already knowing the answer was because she likes to garden, but I wanted to know more about the Butterfree.

"I've enjoyed gardening ever since I was a little girl. I finally built a green house because I've always wanted one," she explained looking out the kitchen window at her giant master piece.

"Are all those Butterfree yours?" I asked amazed at how many were flying about in there.

"Yes, some are off springs of others and couples just come here to raise a family. A few were injured and I healed them back to health, but they didn't want to leave."

We went out her back door to reach the green house. It stood three stories high and was as wide as two school buses length wise! It was the biggest thing of plants I've ever seen in my entire life! It must've cost a fortune to build.

"Here we are, Butterfree Paradise," she smiled unlocking the door to the palace of greens.

A light wind of warm air brushed over our heads. It didn't take long for Owen and me to start to sweat from the captured heat. Although, Tabitha adapted perfectly fine to the intense heat, and the Butterfree seemed to like the warm air. Three Butterfree flew over to Tabitha the second they saw her. They rubbed up against her begging for attention and purred as she scratched under their chins. The others took their time coming over to address us. The old woman gave us a tour of her plant mansion and pointed out some plants that the Butterfree especially love.

"I have a Butterfree too," I told her.

"Spectacular! Maybe it would like a little fresh air?" she hinted.

"Alright, Butterfree come on out!" I said as I opened his pokeball. He was so happy to see all these Butterfree to play with, and all these plants to snack on. He raced around liking every minute of free time in this hot air dome.

"He really seems to like it here," Owen pointed out.

"I'm glad he likes it, he needed to stretch his wings out," I giggled as I looked up at my beautiful Butterfree, I could never be happier for him.

Time passed and Butterfree played tag with the others, sun bathed on a tree branch, drank some water from the mini waterfall, and snacked on some giant leaves. Owen, Tabitha, and I chatted while sitting in some lawn chairs, and I was trying to get used to the annoying heat.

"Your Butterfree seems to be fitting in very well with the others," Tabitha beamed with happiness.

"Well, your Butterfree are very welcoming," I complimented.

"They love people," Tabitha said smiling up at her pokemon.

The sun was starting to set, and it was time to get going on the road once again. I felt like a party pooper ending Butterfree's fun, but we had to get going.

"Butterfree!" I called out in the huge room. All the Butterfree turned and looked at me. "I mean Kylie's Butterfree!"

Finally, I spotted him making his way towards me. He seemed pleased with how he spent his day and was ready to spend a nice long nap inside his pokeball. But on his way over towards me he spotted a gorgeous Butterfree and his eyes popped out of their sockets. He rapidly shot over next to it and started to talk to it. It batted its eye lashes as my Butterfree danced around it.

"Butterfree stop joking around, it's time to go home!" I told him.

"I think your Butterfree is in love!" Tabitha sung.

"What?" this wasn't good news to me. What if Butterfree left me and would rather stay here? I couldn't let that happen! I stormed over to Butterfree and ordered it to come over next to me. But he continued dancing for that other Butterfree he seemed to like. It giggled as he kept trying to impress her.

"C'mon Butterfree," I murmured through my grinding teeth.

He kept trying and failing, she just sat there starring at him making a fool of himself.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my Butterfree!" I yelled at the female Butterfree. "Why doesn't she like my Butterfree?" I turned around and asked them.

"That one already has a mate," Tabitha weakly got up and walked over to me. "She doesn't want your Butterfree because she has her eyes set on another one,"

"What! My Butterfree is never going to give up! We'll be here forever!" I groaned.

"Eventually your Butterfree will learn, and will return heart broken," Tabitha said sadly shaking her head.

"WHAT!? I will not let that happen to my Butterfree!" I said determined forming a fist with my hand. I wouldn't let my perfectly normal Butterfree be turned down by some bratty princess. "We'll show her" I thought to myself.

"Butterfree impress her with your whirl wind!" I called out. He nodded and did so, but it failed she stood there emotionless.

"Try your quick attack!"

He zipped around tackling the air as fast as he could, but it still didn't win her heart.

"Rain Dance!"

Eventually, he made rain fell from the sky and pelted the glass of the green house, but the Butterfree just cowered down in fear from the drizzle.

"This isn't working," I said disappointed. I don't care if this Butterfree already likes another one, I won't let my Butterfree be down on its self just because it didn't win some heartless bug.

After a few more attempts with talking to her and showing off Butterfree's moves, we gave up. My Butterfree said good-bye to its friends and then floated over to his crush for some final words. Of course I don't know what he said, but I'm sure it must've made him feel a little better.

We said good-bye to Tabitha and thank her for her hospitality. The three of us started to make our way for Saffron City when a purple blob jolted by me.

"Whoa, what was that!?" I asked catching my balance. I looked over and saw the Butterfree, which my Butterfree tried to impress before, talking to him. I was almost in tears I was so happy. After a few minutes of, "_Free! Free!_" my Butterfree turned and looked at me. He had a big smile on his face yet looked sort of sad.

"This is great Butterfree you finally got the girl you wanted! I'm so proud, you never gave up," I choked.

"_Free! Free!_" he sorrowfully pointed at the other Butterfree.

"Butterfree," I said trying to fight back tears. "I can understand if you want to stay here… with your new friends… and your new girlfriend…" I said rubbing my watery eyes. I know I didn't want Butterfree to go before… but now that I see how happy he is. I know he'll love living here.

"_Free…_" he hung his head down.

"Don't be sad buddy," I chuckled as a tear rolled down my cheek. "I'll miss you too, but we both know you'll be happy here," I looked back at Owen who nodded, gesturing it was the right thing to do. More tears rolled down my face when I saw Butterfree's big, glistening eyes water. Tabitha came out from the back yard and stood next to the Butterfree.

"You are welcome to stay here, Butterfree," Tabitha insisted.

"Nothing is stopping you from being happy, Butterfree," I sobbed. Alls that was running through my mind was that I was loosing my best friend, my very first pokemon I caught, and a great battling partner. But in the back of my mind a voice was shouting, "Let go! Let go!" I wanted to refuse to listen to that voice, but I knew it was for the better.

"_Free…_" he softly spoke.  
The sun was setting on the horizon and the last rays of light shined on us.

"Please Butterfree, if you want this just say so," I said hanging my head down, looking at the dirt path that lay beneath us. My tears watered the dry dirt and quickly got absorbed into the thirsty ground.

"_Free…_" Butterfree trembled.

"Good-bye… Butterfree…" I whispered then turned around and began to walk away. Owen walked along side of me as I still looked down at the ground wiping away my tears. When we reached the top of a small hill, where you could look down and see Tabitha's small house, I turned around to see if Butterfree was still there. He was. He looked up at me from down below, and I could only focus on his handsome, shinning eyes. I began to break out in tears again and then to cried loudly.

"Bye Butterfree! I'll miss you, buddy! I'll visit again soon! Don' forget me!"

And an echo of his cry repeated in my head as we continued to walk away from the Butterfree Paradise.


	15. A New Friend and a New Rival

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

The next morning came in a blink of an eye. My journey felt like it was going by so fast, yet so slow. The part that went by slow, walking. From town to town took days but it seemed like years. The sun would only be rising and it felt like it should be setting at some points along the way. I don't mind it. I want my journey to last forever, and I defiantly don't want to go back to my boring life.

Suddenly, loud cheers, an instrumental band, and the sound of a car engine starting broke my train of thought. Owen and I looked at each other with confused faces. We pushed through some bushes and found a festival was happening in the middle of the forest. It was actually a small town having a party. We stepped onto the side walk where our body pressed up against strangers and you could barley move, it was so jammed packed with people looking into the street.

"What's going on?" I asked out loud for anyone to answer.

"It's the annual Gallade Fastival, here in Gallade City," a hefty, short, brown haired man told me.

"Gallade Festival?" I asked, but he had disappeared off into the crowd. Just then, a marching band stomped in the streets. The played the town's song I heard someone say. Then many elegantly decorated floats with flowers and streamers and sparklers slowly road by. Eventually, the crowd was dismissed from the parade and everyone met at the town hall. The town was very small so all people walked. Everyone walked around showing off their Ralts and Kirlias. Kids battled their preevolutions of Gallade and Gardevoir while mostly adults still shuffled their way through the crowd to get to the town hall.

Finally, everyone was settled and we stood in front of a small stage that was built out of wood and looked like they only took about a day or two to make it. An old, short man, with a blue baseball cap of backwards and a blue shirt with a shiney Gallade on it gradually made his way up the small steps to the top of the juncture.

"Good Morning town folks of Gallade City," he beamed with pride as he spoke his raspy yet high voice into the microphone. The town cheered loudly for the old man. "Thank you, thank you. Now I hope everyone enjoyed The Parade of Gallade."

The crowd clapped and cheered mildly.

"I know I tell the story every year but for those of you stopping by let me tell it again. One hundred years ago Gallade City was actually called Timothy Rock. A man Named Timothy Toddwell discovered this place and it had so many rocks in the land, he decided to call it Timothy Rock. After a couple years flew by, the town grew in number. It became quite the little village and was known for its beautiful rivers and flowers. But one day, Timothy Rock and all the other towns in the area, where threatened by a vicious storm. It was the worst they've seen in a long time. Trees crushed houses, rivers overflowed and the extra water was heading for town. The local school house teacher cried 'It's a hurricane! It's a hurricane!' everyone began to run around like it was the end of the world. When the storm was only about to get worse, and a giant title wave was about to come crashing down on Timothy Rock. To everyone's surprise a pokemon with a figure of a human jumped in front of the title wave. A force field came from this heroic pokemon, and protected the entire town from the storm. That heroic pokemon was indeed our god and savior, Gallade. To this day we praise him for his good deed, which is why Timothy Toddwell renamed the town, Gallade City, to honour this valiant pokemon."

A few people gasped in shock of his bravery and kindness. Most knew Gallade as a not so happy pokemon, but this one particular Gallade, I guess was just really nice. What a great story I thought to myself. The man said a few more greatful words then he allowed them to head off to the pokemon contest battling field. I had to check this out. First I had to find Owen. After the crowd cleared I spotted Owen also searching for me.

"Hey," I greeted, walking up to him, "let's check out that battle field," I said excited.

"You go ahead I'm going to get some food," he said looking around for a concession stand.

"Alright, see ya," I said turning to see which way that pokemon field was. Luckily, I found that hefty man again looking at some Ralts and Kirlias on display.

"Excuse me sir," I politely interrupted and softly tapped his shoulder.

"I'm seeing you a lot today," he chuckled. This time he was wearing a pair of big, plastic, blue sun glasses. It was a beautiful day.

"Do you happen to know where the pokemon battle field is?" I said sweetly.

"It's right over there," he said pointing to a giant dirt field with a couple patches of grass here and there, wrapped around in a white plastic fence, with sponsors written all over it. Two boys and their pokemon stood on opposite ends of the arena. Both boys were short and young, but one boy had a hoodie vest and jeans on also short brown hair with a fox tail. The other boy had tan shorts and the same shirt the old man had on. His hair was auburn and longish.

The boy in the jeans and hoodie vest had a purple pokemon that had neither legs nor arms. It was quite cute and I pulled out my pokedex to see what it was.

_Dratini is called the Mirage Pokemon because so few people have seen it. Its shed skin has been found._

"That's funny I was just about to pull out my pokedex," a girl next to me said reading my screen. A green bandanna sat on top of her light, brown hair. She whore a lime green tank top and a dark green vest on top, a jean mini skirt, and green and black sneakers. I guess she likes the color green. I also noticed a silver, heart locket that she had hanging around her neck. "What does it say about the other boy's pokemon?" she asked, typing in the data. The other boy had a turquoise, pinecone looking pokemon.

_Pineco's pointy outer shell protects it from bird pokemon that peck at it_

"Poor Pineco," she sighed. "By the way, I'm Perennial Passdastars, but everyone calls me Penny," she gleamed.

"I'm Kylie Scorch, and everyone calls me… Kylie!" I introduced smiling back at her.

"You're funny. So anyway Kylie are you going to enter the competition? I want to but I don't want to go by myself. It'll be fun! C'mon!" she said rapidly then grabbed my arm and dragged me to the sign up table.

"There's a battling competition?" I asked.

"Mmm hmmm," she nodded. "That's what they're doing right now. So what do you say? We might actually end up battling each other! Wouldn't that be great!?" she said ecstatically. This girl had a lot of energy and optimism, something I'd have to get used to. I picked up the pen and tapped the end of it against the table.

"Well?" Penny asked starting get impatient.

I wrote my name down.

"See you in the battle field," I challenged as we gave each other a hard hand shake. It looks as if I have a new friend and rival.


	16. Gallade City Festival

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**A/N: Wow the reviews are pouring in! Well… not really. Don't be afraid to say what you think, I love some constructive criticism. Just don't be too mean lol.**

"We will now announce the two next challengers," a man from the officials table announced into the microphone.

I looked over at Penny who was crossing her fingers, jumping up and down, and had her eyes closed.

"Perennial Passdastars and Zane Oak!" the crowd clapped. Penny stood their motionless and disappointed. I stood their dazed and confused. What was Zane doing here?

"Man., I could of sworn we were ganna be put together, oh well, good luck in your battle," she smiled then leaped over the fence into the battle field.

Zane also jumped into the arena looking as confident as usual. I was defiantly rooting for Penny on this one.

"Go Penny show him who means business!" I called out to her. She nodded and smiled as the announcer said the rules.

"This will be a three on three battle. Substitutes are not permitted. Let the battle begin!" he enthusiastically shouted as he rung a small bell.

"Go Tropius!" Penny called as she pitched her pokeball out onto the field. Out of the red light a giant pokemon emerged. It stood six feet tall and had giant palm tree leaves on its back. It was a pretty awesome pokemon.

_Because Tropius continually ate its favorite fruits, they began to grow on its neck._

"That thing is going to be hard to beat," I said aloud.

"Depends what pokemon Zane uses," Owen said from behind me and scared the crap out of me.

"God Owen, warn me before you scare me, will ya?" I said panting and holding my hand over my dead heart. "Why are you here anyway?" I asked him, but I got interrupted by Zane calling out his pokemon. Everyone paid close attention to who he would choose.

"Starly, go!" he cried and threw the pokeball which contained his Starly, the one that beat my Charmander, Houndour, and Butterfree.

"Tropius, no wasting time! Razor Leaf!" Penny told him.

"Starly, dodge and use gust!" Zane instructed. Starly smoothy moved out of the tracks of the flying leaves, and then flapped his wings towards Tropius with all its might. Tropius winced from the intense winds, but it didn't do much to the giant.

"Tropius, razor leaf again then gust!" Penny hollered. Tropius once again sent razor sharp leaves out of his back at Starly. Then quickly flapped his giant palm tree leaves, catching Starly off guard since he was busy avoiding the razor leaves. It was a brilliant plan. Starly fell to the ground because his tiny body couldn't handle the intense winds from Tropius.

"Quickly Tropius! Stomp!" Penny said promptly.

Tropius stormed over next to Starly as it watched in fear. Zane stood on the other end sweating bullets. Tropius lifted his two front legs and was about to come down on Starly hard when I could've sworn I saw a light bulb appear above Zane's head.

"Ariel ace, Starly!" Zane's quick thinking saved his butt. Starly's beak started to glow with power then he shot up propelling himself off the ground and pecked Tropius right in the chest! Tropius thumped to the ground and shook the audience.

"Tropius is unable to battle Starly wins!" the announcer exclaimed. The crowd cheered for Zane and his Starly.

"Tropius you did awesome, you get a nice, long rest now," Penny glistened with pride as she returned her pokemon to its pokeball. Zane also returned Starly to his pokeball because he was also tired.

"Is your next pokemon ganna have a dumb name too?" Zane snickered.

"You just wait and see little biker boy," Penny said enlarging another one of her three pokeballs. "Clover, show this guy that you're mean, lean, and a fast machine!" she cheered and tossed her next pokeball. A small, brown, fox-like pokemon, it was so cute.

_Eevee is a rare pokemon that adapts to harsh environments by taking on many different evolution forms._

"_Eeh_!" it cried with a confident smile.

"That's the spirit Clover!" Penny clapped her hands together and jumped up and down ecstatic.

"Well, your spirit is about to be broken! Piloswine go!" a brown, hedgehog pokemon came out of the pokeball. It had shaggy hair that covered its eyes and it reminded me of one of those shaggy dogs.

"I'd love to have a Flareon," I dreamed of its cute little paws and fluffy mane.

"You'd love to have all the fire pokemon," Owen sarcastically said.

"My cousin had an Eevee, cute, little thing," Zane smiled looking at the ground.

Penny smiled at her Eevee and it smiled back from receiving such a nice compliment.

"But it was a useless weakling!" Zane yelled, egging Penny on.

"No one says that about Eevee and gets away with it! Are you ready to crush this guy to the ground, Clover?" Penny was getting really infuriated.

"_Eeh_!" Clover growled kicking up dirt with her back paw.

"Let's do it for the name of all Eevee!" Penny said throwing her fist up into the air.

The bell rang.

"Piloswine, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Zane smirked. Piloswine shook his long hair and made snow fall from the sky! It was the most amazing attack I'd ever seen. It just went from beautiful sunshine, to bitter cold. The snow flakes hit Clover's fur and made the small pokemon shiver.

"We can't let a little cold get to us!" Penny exclaimed. "Bite it!"

Clover launched at Piloswine and showed its sharp canine teeth, trying to intimidate the ice pokemon.

"Now ice beam!" Zane rapidly told him. Between Poliswine's two horns particals of ice started to gather and a blue glow blinded me and the rest of the crowd. Clover stopped her tracks and just starred nervously at the fierce power being charged up. Then Piloswine unleashed the unbelievable ice beam and shot Clover right in the stomach. She collapsed to the, rock hard, icy ground.

"Eevee is unable to battle-" the announcer was about to declare, but he was cut off by Penny.

"Wait, I know she can still go on," she tried to convince. "Clover, honey, please get up," she encouraged worriedly.

The Eevee weakly opened its eyes and gazed at her concerned trainer. Clover nodded then struggled to get up, but after a couple tries she inadequately got up back on her four legs.

"When will that embarrassment of yours give up?" Zane asked still as bad-mannered as ever.

"Never! Clover, use quick attack!"

Suddenly, it was as if Clover had regain total strength, she bolted over and tackled Piloswine to the ground. It squirmed on its back like a helpless sea turtle, but this was another perfect chance to sneak in another attack!

"Piloswine get up!" Zane ordered once again sweating nervously.

"Clover iron tail!" Penny called out on top of her lungs. Clover swung its stone hard tail around and whacked Piloswine right across its forehead. After that move Piloswine didn't squirm at all. A big grin appeared on Penny's face as the announcer claimed that Piloswine was unable to battle.

"Piloswine return!" Zane said angrily as he looked down at the ground ashamed.

"Yeah Clover I'm so proud!" Penny shouted and leaped into the air. Clover turned around and starred her trainer in the eyes. The connection between the two was amazing, they were a great team. Clover pranced over to Penny then hopped up into her arms.

"Fabulous job, Clover, you may rest now," Penny twinkled as she opened up Clover's pokeball and the red light retrieved her back inside. The snow had stopped now that Piloswine had fainted, and the coldness was starting to wear off. Some people ran home and got their jackets, I wouldn't want to miss that fight though.

Penny and Zane stood facing each other, daringly glaring into each others eyes, waiting for the bell to ring. Before they wouldn't shut up, now they were completely quiet and completely still. The bell loudly rang and echoed through out the small town. A large crowd had gathered around the arena, and once again we were pressed up against each other like we all had to fit in the world's smallest room. I was just glad I was close up and had a great view of the battle.

"One more pokemon left for each of you, let the battle continue!" the announcer's voiced boomed.

"I choose you, Squirlte!" Zane threw out his starter pokemon, Squirtle.

"It's you're turn, Bulbasaur!" Penny hurled her pokeball which had her starter in it, Bulbasaur. This was going to be an interesting match. Then I thought about my Charmander, and how lucky I was to get him.

"Bulbasaur, pick Squirlte up with vine whip!" yelled Penny. Out of Bulbasaur's back two vines grew and grew and headed for Squirtle.

"Shoot his vines away with water gun!" Zane told his Squirtle. Squirtle shot a jet of water right at Bulbasaur's vines and stopped them right in their tracks. "Now Squirtle, rapid spin!"

Squirtle withdrawal into his turtle shell then launched up into mid air. Bulbasaur stood their and was too frightened to move. Squirlte's shell began to spin at amazing speed then bashed right into Bulbasaur's side. Some people in the crowd covered their eyes. Some flinched from the attack, and some just got more consumed into the battle. Me, I was consumed.

"Bulbasaur, razor leaf!" leafs flung out of Bulbasaur's back and zipped towards Zane's Squirtle.

"Dodge Squirtle!" Squirtle ducked then stood back up proud of his good avoidance.

"Poison powder!" Penny commanded. Out of the tip of Bulbasaur's bulb, a deep purple powder fluttered onto Squirtle. He shook his head back and forth trying to shake it away. But it seemed to have poisoned him. Squirtle started to race back and forth squealing in pain.

"Great job, Bulbasaur," Penny gave a thumbs up to her pokemon. Bulbasaur winked back at her.

"Squirtle finish it off! Skull bash!" Zane called out in frustration. Finally, Squirtle stopped screaming and planted its feet with a determined look in its eye. Bulbasaur sat back and watched what he was up to. Squirtle then let out a giant growl and then charged at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur actually thought was funny and was just watching the show, but when he saw Squirtle withdrawal into his shell except his head, I'm sure he wished he didn't just stand there. Squirtle's head began to shine from the intense speed he was traveling at and Bulbasaur still was motionless.

"Dodge it Bulbasaur! What are you doing just standing there?!" Penny asked angrily. But Bulbasaur didn't listen. He just stood still while Zane's Squirtle took him out. Squirtle's head bashed right into Bulbasaur's neck, and sent him flying. Penny returned her pokemon then fell to her knees, disappointed and I'm sure she was wondering why Bulbasaur didn't listen to her.

"You did awesome Bulbasaur," she said to his pokeball.

"Perennial is out of pokemon, Zane wins!" the announcer declared. The crowd cheered as Zane and his Squirtle waved to the crowd in victory. Penny walked over to me with a slight grin, but sad eyes.

"You guys did like unbelievable!" I complimented, hoping it would make her feel better.

"But I lost to him," she sighed. She wasn't actually saying much. This was a first since I've met her. "Arghhhhh, YOU'RE GANNA BEAT THAT ZANE AND CRUSH HIM INTO THE DIRT HE STANDS ON!" Penny bursted out.

Then we heard some tapping on the microphone. We looked over at the announcer who was holding a piece of paper. He read the names off the paper.

"The next two battlers are… Kylie Scorch and Owen Boxer!"


	17. Pokemon Battle: Owen VS Kylie

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**A/N: I came up with this competition, in fact this entire Gallade City filler, because my friends, who are big fans of the story, wouldn't stop nagging me about how Owen never uses his Lickitung. Hopefully, this satisfies those of you who feel the same way. :) enjoy!**

Owen and I just looked at each other. While he sat there happily like nothing was strange at all, I was thinking what the heck is going on!?

"Owen, I didn't know that you signed up to be in this," I said stunned and baffled.

"Just don't expect me to go easy on you, new comer," he teased as he climbed over the plastic wrapping.

"Oh please, you're the new comer when it comes to pokemon battles," I chuckled.

"This will be a three and three battle. Substitutes are not permitted. Let the battle begin!" the announcer exclaimed.

The bell rang.

"Alright, Owen," I grinned still not believing that I was going to battle Owen in an official competition, "after I beat you, you'll never want to battle again!" I threatened.

"Except you got one thing mixed up. I'M going to beat YOU!" he answered and expanded one of his pokeballs.

"Show me what you got," I challenged and smiled.

"Go Lickitung!" Owen's Lickitung appeared from the pokeball and stretched out its long tongue.

"I choose you, Ponyta!" I cried as I threw Ponyta's pokeball. She stood tall and confident as she came into view.

"You got this Kylie! No holding back!" Penny cheered. I flashed her a small wave of assurance then went back to the battle. The crowd clapped, cheered, talked, and snacked, but I zoned all of those sounds out and got keen on the battle.

"Ponyta agility!" I told her. In lightening fast speed Ponyta sprinted closer and closer towards Lickitung, just close enough for an attack.

"Lickitung let her get closer!" Owen called out. Lickitung nodded in comprehension.

When Ponyta got close enough to Lickitung I told her to let out a hard take down. She bowed her head down ready to bash it right into Lickitung, but Owen had something up his sleeve, considering he had some dopey smile on his face.

"Lickitung use your tongue to jump into the air and dodge it!" he shouted. Lickitung did as orders, he planted the tip of his giant tongue on the ground then pushed off the ice cold ground. It was still a little cold from the snow.

"Ponyta ember!" I told her. She spat out bits of fire from her mouth at Lickitung. They pelted his wide belly as he started to free fall to the ground. His eyes were closed, but I don't think he was done just yet.

"Roll out!" Owen yelled out to his Lickitung. As Lickitung was still falling he curled up in a ball. He landed with a thunderous bang and started to roll towards Ponyta who was unprepared for the hit. He knocked her right of her hoofs and sent Ponyta skidding against the rough ground. I could feel the scraps of her sides and I could feel she was in pain. Just when I was about to return her to her pokeball, she gave great effort to pick herself up off the ground. Her knees wobbled and she winced in pain, but I could see in her fiery eyes that she wasn't about to give in.

"Alright Ponyta!" Penny jumped up and down in excitement. I joined in with the jumping also.

"Ponyta fire spin!" I pointed my finger out to the stars, where our lucky star was shinning. Ponyta then blasted a spinning, ball of fire near Lickitung. It just missed him when he took a step to the side.

"Don't give up! Take down!" I cried.

"Lickitung, thunderbolt!" shouted Owen.

"Huh? Thunderbolt?" I remarked puzzled. While I was busy pondering that thought, and unaware that my Ponyta was an open target, a giant crack of lightening electrified Ponyta's body. She shrieked in pain then tumbled to the floor.

"Ponyta great job, return," I aimed the pokeball at Ponyta and the red beam recalled her into the pokeball. "It's your turn Houndour!" I said chucking his pokeball out into the field. Houndour growled at Lickitung as his body materialized from the pokeball.

"Houndour, Lickitung is our friend," I told him.

"But now we're enemies!" Owen blurted out.

"And you, my enemy, are about to get your butt whooped hard!" I said with full confidence.

"Yeah! Show him Kylie! No nasty, spur of the moment trainer can beat us professionals!" Penny said forming a fist with her hand. I laughed from Penny's silliness.

"Houndour use quick attack!" I called out to him. Like a bullet, Houndour shot from one end of the arena all the way to the other, tackling Lickitung right in his stomach. He laid on the ground, but I knew it was going to take more then that to beat him.

"Get up and use slam!" Owen shouted. Lickitung jumped off the ground and into the air. He did a front summer sault swinging his long tail around. He smacked Houndour right on top of his head and you could almost see little Pidgey float around Houndour's head.

"You got this Houndour! Use ember!" I told him. Sparks of fire shot out of his mouth pounding Lickitung and every inch on his body. Lickitung screeched in pain from the burns that appeared on his body.

"Lickitung return!" Owen retrieved him back to his pokeball. "This next one won't be as easy. Not saying that Lickitung was easy to beat. Why don't you give up now, Scorch?" he smirked extending the size of his next pokeball.

"I'm not giving up until I'm holding that first place trophy!" I responded.

"That's only if I _let_ you hold it!" he called back.

"Go visit the weasel festival, you could win first prize there!" I insulted, and smiled at my own joke.

"With out me you wouldn't have any of your badges!"

"How's that!?"

"Ummm let's see. You would've gotten lost with out me and with out me behind your back giving you advise, you would've have won any of your badges by yourself!" he folded his arms. The anger grew inside me. I clenched my fists so hard my finger nails were carving into my skin. My teeth were being grinded so tightly they were probably getting sanded down.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT YOU LITTLE, NO GOOD PUNK! I'M GANNA BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!!!" I threatened. I never felt so angry in my life. All this stress came from the little, trouble machine I was battling.

"Ooooh! I'm so scared!" he whimpered sarcastically.

"Someone battle someone already!" I guy yelled from the audience.

"Send out your pokemon, Boxer," I gave him the evilest glare I could give.

"Alright I will! Go Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee appeared from the pokeball and kicked the air simultaneously.

"That's a shocker!" I rolled my eyes.

"What?" Owen asked totally clueless.

"You're so predictable! I knew you were ganna send out Hitmonlee!" I told him crossing my arms, not even looking at his disgusting face. The bell rang.

"You're the one that always save Charmander for last! Now that's predictable!" he exclaimed.

"I do only have three pokemon!" I pointed out.

"Yeah, because you abandoned Butterfree with some strange, old lady!"

"He was happy there! I did the right thing!" I protested.

"I only have two pokemon and you don't see me crying!" yelled Owen.

"Then you had to go cry to your grandpa and borrow one! Since you have no talent you can't even catch one flipping pokemon!"

"YOU'RE BOTH GOING TO BE DISQUALIFIED IF YOU DON'T STOP BICKERING AND START BATTLING!" the announcer screamed in frustration. The crowd agreed they were getting impatient too, some people even left.

"C'mon Kylie you got this!" Penny cheered.

"Hitmonlee double kick!" Owen shouted. Catching Houndour off guard, Hitmonlee rapidly swung two kicks right in his direction. Both hit Houndour on both his sides and caused him to howl in agony. "Hi jump kick!" Owen quickly called out. Hitmonlee launched into the air and swung his leg around to kick Houndour once again, but I wouldn't allow it.

"Now Houndour, ember!" I ordered. Once again sparks of fire fired out of his mouth and struck Hitmonlee right in the abdomen. He lost his balance and fell right to the ground. He weakly used his thin arms to get back up, and this match was just beginning. Houndour was much more tired then Hitmonlee. He stood there panting and his knees shook. One more effective hit and Houndour was going to be out. I couldn't let him get hit.

"Give it all you got, Houndour use smog!" I yelled to him. He opened his wide, canine mouth and a thick smoke began to pour out. Pretty soon the entire center field was covered in the black smoke and Houndour and Hitmonlee were no longer visible. But with Houndour's great sense of smell, he can find Hitmonlee through the smog with ease.

"Now Houndour use bite!" I shouted. We still couldn't see anything, but we did hear a cry come from Hitmonlee. Score, I thought to myself.

"Hitmonlee don't give up!" Owen encouraged. Finally, the smog cleared and we saw both pokemon were exhausted and gasping for air in the middle of the battle field.

"Looks like your pokemon is ready to give in," I pointed out with an evil smile on my face.

"Are you kidding? Hitmonlee just got here, your Houndour is about to take its final breath!" he remarked.

"I don't think so! Houndour use feint attack!"

"Wait until he gets closer then hit him with a rolling kick!" Owen called to Hitmonlee. Houndour flashed from end to the other surprising Himonlee by appearing right in front of him and bashing his head into Hitmonlee's stomach. Hitmonlee swayed back and forth and looked like he was getting dizzy and nauseous.

"Hitmonlee return!" Owen recalled his fighter back to its pokeball. His jaw dropped and couldn't believe my outstanding Houndour had already fainted two of his pokemon. And he thought this was going to be easy.

"So what's your third pokemon? Your teddy bear?" I teased.

"You'll regret saying that after it kicks all your pokemon's butts!" he threatened.


	18. Gallade City Festival Concludes

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

"Go Poliwrath!" he yelled throwing out a great ball. It was like a pokeball except blue and it made it harder for pokemon to escape from.

"_Poliwrath_!" it said in a deep voice. The bell rang, and just when I was about to call out an attack, a large smoke bomb was dropped into the inside of the field. The smoke spread through out the area. The crowd, Owen, and I all coughed the dark smoke out of our lungs, as it made it harder to breath.

"Listen is that a voice I hear?" a girl's voice said from up above. I looked up to see who it was but the smoke was too thick and it burned my eyes.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear," a boy's voice said directly afterwards. Then it came to me.

"Team Rocket get out of here!" I ordered.

"Floating on the wind!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Past the stars!" James shouted with pleasure.

"In your ear!" Meowth purred.

"Bringing chaos at a break neck pace," Jesse continued.

"Dashing hope putting fear in its place," said James.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet!" Jesse said smelling a bright red rose.

"When everything's worse our work is complete!" James was also holding a rose.

"Jesse!"

"And it's James!"

"Meowth now that's a name!" Meowth said jumping into the picture.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jesse recited.

"Team Rocket," James exclaimed.

"We're in your face!" they all said at the same time.

"Butterfree use whirl wind to clear the smoke!" I said tossing what was Butterfree's old pokeball. It crashed to the ground and opened up to appear empty.

"Butterfree is gone remember?" Owen reminded me.

"Oh yeah," I sighed sadly.

"I got this! Tropius whirl wind!" Penny ran out into the field tossing Tropius's pokeball up into the air. He stomped onto the ground shaking the audience. With an angry look in his eye, he flapped his leaves ferociously. The smoke faded away and revealed a giant vacuum attached to their Meowth balloon had sucked up all our pokemon, including the other Ralts and Kirlias on display, and a few other pokemon from some kids battling on the streets. Pretty soon Tropius couldn't even with stand the suction of the powerful vacuum and got sucked up right with the others into a clear container that stuck to the button of the hot air balloon. I was surprised their balloon could hold up such heavy pokemon as Poliwrath and Tropius, also an Ursaring was trapped in there too.

"Let our pokemon go!" I shouted over the ear splitting noise of the vacuum.

"Like we'd listen to you?" Jesse laughed.

"Yeah, you asking nicely isn't ganna change our minds," Meowth remarked.

I grinded my teeth thinking of those crooks stealing all these pokemon. How can they sleep at night?

"Starly peck a hole through the balloon!" Zane yelled sending out his Starly, but it just got sucked up with the others.

"What do we do?!" I asked anyone who could help. Out of no where a giant blast of fire shot a hole right through the vacuum tube. I turned to see a Growlithe by the side of another Officer Jenny. The suction stopped since the tube had a giant hole in the center of it.

"Growlithe free the pokemon quickly!" Officer Jenny commanded. Growlithe burned a hole right through the container and one by one the pokemon jumped out onto safe land.

"Houndour!" I said hugging my pokemon.

"Now send them flying Growlithe!" Officer Jenny smiled. Growlithe shot a blast of fire right at their balloon. It caught the basket on fire and Team Rocket began to panic. Suddenly, the Meowth balloon exploded and the trio went soaring through the air.

"Why do our plans always fail?" James asked miserably.

"Because I work with two idiots!" Jesse complained.

"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they screamed as a start twinkled.

"Good-bye!" Officer Jenny saluted.

"That was amazing! I love your Growlithe!" I squatted down to scratch it. "You're just a cute little thing!" I said in a baby voice picking it up.

"Careful it-" I think she was about to warn me about something but I couldn't hear her OVER THE ROAR OF FLAMES BURNING MY HEAD!

"It doesn't like being picked up," Officer Jenny said holding in her laughter.

"I guess not," I said puffing out smoke from my mouth. It tasted like I just ate burnt chicken.

"Sorry," she smiled embarrassed taking Growlithe away from me.

"It's ok, it's just some three degree burns," I said still eyes wide open and in shock. I collapsed onto my back and moaned in pain.

Officer Jenny let out a giggle. But when Owen and Penny walked over, they had no sympathy.

"OHHHH BURN!!!" Penny teased while cracking up.

"God, does any pokemon like you?" Owen joked also laughing.

"That thing burned you to the ground!" Penny said giving a low high five to Owen.

"Ha. Ha, very funny," I sarcastically responded and got up off the ground.

"Looks like the Gallade Festival is ruined," Officer Jenny said disappointed while looking around at all the toppled over booths and what used to be the battling field.

"We can help clean up," I insisted, while Owen was anxiously nodding his head no in the back round.

"You should get moving on your journey. Onto Saffron City am I right?" she asked tapping her chin with her finger. We all nodded yes. "Well, you should get going then. Thanks for all your help!" she shouted to us and waved with her Growlithe at her side. We all waved back to the Police Officer, Gallade City, and the festival, and started walking towards Saffron City, where I would challenge the next gym leader!


	19. Welcome to Saffron City

**CHAPTER NINTEEN**

"I'm tired! Can we stop for just one minute?" I complained, sitting down on a perfectly square rock that made great use for a bench. Owen collapsed beside me.

"Why are we in such a hurry anyway? Do you want my legs to explode?" Owen moaned in pain.

"You guys are such wimps. Saffron City is less then an hour away! We can rest at that pokemon center!" She tried to pull me up off the rock but my aching body was refusing.

"Ten minutes," I said lying down and covering my eyes with my practically empty back pack.

"Fine," she pouted as she sat down on the rock. It wasn't the most comfortable thing but it was better then walking.

We all sat there in silence for was literally four minutes and I was just about to fall asleep when Penny decided that was enough and it was time to get going again.

"Alright, time to go!" she got up with a smile, but when she saw me and Owen's unhappy faces that smile went right to a worried grin. "I mean five more minutes would be great! Don't you agree?" she giggled nervously. We all sat back down and rested for those five minutes. My calves were throbbing from the constant walking and this break is just what I needed. Suddenly, a stir in the bushes near by awoke us all. We starred at the bush, cautious of what might come out. Then a little, brown, spherical pokemon hopped out of the greens.

"A pokemon!" I exclaimed pulling out my pokedex.

_When Seedot dangles from a tree branch it looks just like an acorn. It enjoys scaring other pokemon._

"A perfect grass pokemon to add to my party!" Penny jumped up holding a pokeball in her hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said using my arm to block her from capturing that pokemon that rightfully belonged to me. "I saw it first, that means I get to catch it!"

"You are a fire pokemon trainer! I am a grass pokemon trainer! Now who do you think really deserves that pokemon?" she asked with her hands on her hips. I tapped my chin with my finger sarcastically and still knew that Seedot rightfully belonged to me!

"I get to catch him! I saw him first!" I argued. We began to bicker back and forth and Seedot just looked up at us fighting with one another.

"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP BEFORE I CATCH THE DAMN THING!" Owen screamed in frustration separating the two of us. His voice echoed through the forest and as the leaves in the trees shook, the Seedot became frightened and scurried off back into the bush.

"Thanks Owen, now neither of us can catch it!" Penny said angrily.

"Look. Let's just get to Saffron City a.s.a.p.!" I said. "And try to get along on the way there!" we all agreed. We walked the rest the day in silence.

Night fell over the horizon and the moon hung high in the sky. A brutal wind blew through us as we clutched our sides trying to warm up our body. The wind started to blow so roughly that we could barley walk. Each step felt like we were climbing up a mountain. The night fog had settled in and it was hard to see the path before us, the weather was not cooperating with us.

"I can't see a thing!" I said starring into the fog trying to find our way through these woods.

"Does anyone have any idea where we're going?" Owen asked stopping us all in our tracks.

"No," I admitted. He looked over at Penny who just shook her head.

"WHAT! None of us have no idea where the heck we are!" I said grasping my hair.

"Calm down," Penny placed her hands on my shoulders. "If we keep heading straight I'm sure we'll find Saffron," she assured me.

"I hope so," I said worriedly, the fog started to come in pretty thick.

"Let's hold hands so we don't loose each other," Penny suggested. Penny and I took each other's hands and started to make our way through the fog, and after a couple minutes we realized Owen was missing.

"I thought you had him?" I asked her as we searched around for him.

"I thought you had him!" she said.

"Hey guys, over here!" he called from ahead of us. We ran towards his voice and tried not getting lost through the thick layer of fog between us. Being incautious and not looking where I was going a root kicked me off my feet and sent me flying forward.

"Ow," I muttered in slight pain as I just laid on the cold ground for a quick rest.

"You alright?" Penny asked me kneeling down to make sure I was alright.

"Yeah," I feebly got up off the ground and patted the dirt off me.

"Where are you guys?" Owen called out to us.

"Over here!" we called back.

"There you are. I found stupid Saffron City," he said making mockingly gestures. He guided us through the fog and stopped us at a giant cliff. But down below was a gorgeous metropolis that was Saffron City. The many lights sparkled in the sinister sky and lit the way as we got closer and closer to the town.

The town welcomed us with a purple arch the read "Saffron City." Sky scrappers toward over us and the fog was left behind. We searched for the Pokemon Center in the empty street and I wondered why a city like this was empty. Suddenly, all our eyes were directed at a little girl in a white dress and hat standing in the middle of the street. Her hat cased a shadow on her face so it wasn't visible.

"Hello, can you tell us where the Pokemon Center is?" I asked her in my sweet little kid voice, but alls she did was giggle then run off into an ally. "Strange," I murmured.

We continued to make our way through the town and finally spotted the Pokemon Center. After that competition earlier today, my pokemon and I were exhausted.

"I'm beat," Penny mumbled while closing her eyes. I sat there on a lobby chair enjoying the air conditioning. Owen slouched in a chair across from us half asleep.

"Your pokemon are all healed," Nurse Joy dimly smiled handing us all our trays with our pokeballs on them. She had heavy bags under her eyes, she was probably tired too.

"You look tired Nurse Joy," I yawned trying to create a little conversation before bed.

"I've been so busy lately with all the injured pokemon coming over from the gym. We get so many emergencies I barley have time to sleep," she said rubbing her tired eyes.

"We're sorry for keeping you up," Penny apologized.

"It's not just you. I have a Turtwig and a Murkrow in the back that are both deeply injured," she told us. "Sleep well," she waved to us as she headed back to the emergency room. My eyes widened thinking about the thought of all the pokemon that must loose to Sabrina. What if this battle won't be so easy after all? I couldn't shake it out of my mind. I looked over to see Penny and Owen were fast asleep. I tried my hardest to fall asleep but the topic kept coming back to mind and taunting me. I squeezed my eyes shut hard but it was no use. After a half hour of trying my best to get some rest, I sat up right in the softly cushioned chair. I peered over at the clock that viewed 12:23 a.m. I placed my chin on top of my palm while it perched on the arm of the chair. Eventually, I dozed off to sleep.


	20. Team Rocket Strikes Again

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**A/N: Can you believe it!? Chapter twenty! It's come a long way since chapter one. Enjoy:)**

"Good morning, Kylie. I see you finally found the time to call me," Professor Oak said to me on the phone the next morning. He blew on a cup of tea in his lab.

"Yeah, sorry professor," I said embarrassed.

"I haven't received any pokemon from you. How many have you caught?" he asked after sipping his tea.

"Umm… ha… ha… about that," I scratched my head starting to sweat nervously. I didn't want to disappoint him by saying I've only caught four pokemon.

"Because Zane has already captured twenty-two pokemon," Professor Oak informed me.

"TWENTY-TWO!!!" I couldn't believe it! I was so behind it was unbelievable.

"And he has five badges!" Professor Oak rubbed it in some more.

"FIVE!" I banged my head against the table that the communication computer sat on, I didn't even care that it hurt. "What about everyone else my age? How many do they have?" I asked.

"Everyone else has four to five badges," he said wafting his tea. My head just hung low. "Penny only has three don't you, Penny?" I asked her. She nervously grinned as she pulled out an old, carved, wooden box. The box made a loud creek as she opened it up. Inside pinned to the base's cushion sat four gym badges. At first sight I just fell right to the floor thinking that this was unbelievable.

"Professor, don't worry I'll catch you plenty of pokemon! I won't disappoint you!" I assured him. He smiled unsurely.

"Alright, it was nice chatting with you, Kylie, but I think my second pot of tea is done!"

"Ok, bye Professor!" I hung up the phone and starred at the blank screen. I knew my mom was going to flip that I haven't called her since I left, but I hesitantly picked up the green phone and dialed the number. My mom's picture appeared on the screen right away and she did not look happy. Her brown, shoulder length hair was pushed behind her ears, and her cotton, orange shirt stood out brightly on the screen.

"WHY HAVEN'T YOU CALLED!" she viciously asked.

"Sorry mom! I've lost track of time!" I cowered down nervously. Just then a smile appeared across her face.

"I'm just glad you're ok," she looked as if she was about to cry.

"Oh boy," I rolled my eyes. Then that's when the tears started rolling.

"Are you making your mother cry again?" my dad asked appearing on the screen looking same as usual. His black, but now turning grey, hair was pulled back into the same thin pony tail. His bushy mustache sat above his lips and his rectangular head wore that same old smile that could easily brighten up your day. I have to admit I'm a daddy's girl.

"How are you, Kylie?" my dad chimed.

"Great dad! The one that needs comforting I think is mom," I laughed.

"Honey, she'll be home sooner then you know it," my dad said hugging my sobbing mom. "Won't you sweet heart?" he asked me and flashed me a wink.

"Yupe, I'll be there in a blink of an eye mom!" I giggled.

"Find any new friends to travel with?" he asked me.

"Yeah, this boy named-" I started.

"A BOY!!!!!!!" my mom shouted. My dad stuck his finger in his ear like she popped his ear drum, but he was just joking around. "I hope you're not getting any ideas young lady! No dating until you're twenty!" my mom ordered.

"Twenty? Mom," I knew she was exaggerating, but knowing my mom she might be serious.

"How many badges do you have?" my dad asked changing the subject. I knew he couldn't stand the idea of his little girl dating.

"Three," I said sadly.

"That's great!" he exclaimed.

"Everyone else has four or five," I pouted.

"Don't let that get you down. As long as you become the greatest trainer you can be! And beat all those other guy's butts!" my dad said enthusiastically.

"There will be no smacking of boy's butts! Do you hear me?" my mom left the screen off to sob about something. But as soon as she left my dad and I burst into laughter. My dad was like my best friend and he used to be a pokemon trainer too. So ever since I decided I wanted to be a trainer he taught me everything he knew. Including how to deal with depressed moms.

"Bye dad, I love you," I waved to him.

"Bye Kylie, be careful," he told me blowing a kiss.

"Don't let mom worry to much, dad," I chuckled. I spun around to see Owen talking to his grandpa on one of the many green, computer phones. He was telling him all about the KPFT and then I walked over without trying to interrupt.

"Is that Kylie I see?" Mr. Boxer asked.

"Hey, Mr. Boxer," I knelt down to see him on the small screen.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" he smiled.

"It has," I agreed politely.

"Are you and my grandson getting along?" he asked wagging his finger jokingly at me.

"No," Owen said bluntly, for that I just smacked him right in the head. "What was that for!?" he asked angrily as he stood up from his metal chair.

"You don't just say that to people!" I exclaimed.

"You don't just whack people in the head for no reason!" he responded. As we debated back and forth alls Mr. Boxer could do is chuckle and shake his head.

"Will you two shut up?" Penny walked over and said disgusted.

"NO!" we yelled at her at the same time, and then went back to arguing. He just aggravated me in so many ways I couldn't help but fight with him. To all of our surprise, two people, one with shoulder length blue hair and the other with long red hair, both in blue suits and white, mouth masks on and sunglasses, exploded through the doors to the Pokemon Center.

"Give us all your pokemon!" ordered the girl with red hair. They both looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Or else!" the boy threatened.

"Or else what?" Nurse Joy questioned not ready to back down.

"Umm…" the boy was speechless and the two robbers looked at each other with blank stares, not knowing what to say.

"Just give us your pokemon or we'll- we'll- we'll," she stuttered. "Seviper teach them not to question Team Ro-" she said throwing out her pokeball.

"Seviper," I pondered. Then it came to me! "You want to fight Team Rocket? I choose you Charmander!" I shouted throwing out his pokeball. He popped out and stood in front of Team Rocket as he gave them a determined glare.

"They know who we are, we might as well take off these costumes," said Jesse, I figured out it was her by now.

"But I feel so secretive," James whined.

"She let out the Charmander now's our chance!" Meowth said appearing out of no where. He was holding a remote that had two, giant, red buttons on it.

"Right, press the button!" Jesse sneered. Meowth tapped the button with his paw and a cylinder shaped machine rolled into the room, it was silver with a blue rim and had a clear compartment in the center of it. It beeped like a robot and had arms and claws too.

"Charmander ember!" I told him. Flames spurted out of Charmander's mouth and hit the machine but it didn't seem to cause any damage. "It didn't do anything!"

"Don't you think by now we know that you raise fire pokemon?" Jesse evilly laughed.

"Get the Charmander and let's split!" James told Meowth. Meowth pressed the other red button and one of the claws from the robot grabbed Charmander.

"NO! CHARMANDER!" I dived to save him but my stomach just hit the floor, and it knocked the wind out of me. I scurried to get back on my feet, but Team Rocket and their machine were already out the door. I could see Charmander try his hardest to wiggle from the grip of the machine. The top of the robot flipped open and the claw released Charmander into the compartment.

"Come back here Team Rocket!" I screamed as I sprinted after them. It felt like my lungs were going to pop like two balloons, but I couldn't let those three get away with Charmander! Why do they want Charmander anyway?

Suddenly Jesse turned around with her Seviper at her side and stopped me in my tracks. It looks like she was stopping me from getting to Charmander.

"Give me Charmander," I ordered.

"Never," she snickered.

"Why do you want my Charmander anyway?" I asked.

"Because after we saw it beat Lt. Surge, we saw how powerful it was and knew it would perfect gift for the boss," she said proudly while folding her arms.

"What boss?" I asked totally clueless.

"THE BOSS OF TEAM ROCKET!" she screamed as a vain pulsed on her forehead.

"Well, I'm not just letting you have him," I said expanding Ponyta's pokeball. I tossed out her pokeball as I yelled "Ponyta I choose you!"

"_Neigh_!" she puffed and kicked dust up with her back hoof.

"Seviper poison tail attack!" Jesse commanded.

"_Seviper_!" it hissed as the snake pokemon swung its tail around. The sharp point slit Ponyta's leg right open and she shrieked from the sting.

"Ponyta return!" the red beam retrieved her back to her pokeball.

"Seviper, we actually beat a twerp pokemon!" Jesse celebrated. I guess they don't win often.

"Houndour go!" I shouted as Houndour jumped out of his pokeball. He landed on his four legs and growled at the foe. "Houndour use smog!"

Houndour opened his mouth and thick, poisonous gas poured from his mouth like a fire extinguisher. I could hear Jesse and Seviper cough from the poisonous gas entering their lungs, so I quickly returned Houndour to his pokeball and ran after Meowth and James, who were far ahead. As I sprinted down the streets of Saffron City I finally spotted the two resting on their knees.

"Stop right there!" I admonished.

"AH! THE TWERP!" they both screamed and clamped onto each other.

"Hand over my Charmander and no one gets hurt!" I warned.

"You'll never get this remote!" Meowth sneered. I tackled the pokemon to the ground grabbing for the remote. He was actually pretty strong, holding me back with just one hand. But I was stronger and pulled the cat out from under me. I held him up in the air by his scruff and he looked uncomfortable.

"Let me down, before I snatch up all your other pokemon!" he pleaded yet tried to act tough. I just responded by flicking him in the ear.

"Ow!" he said rubbing his head. Then looked over at me with an angry glare and extended his claws. He swiped his claws right across my face and it felt like someone had poured salt water on one of my cuts it stung so bad. The sudden pain made me drop Meowth and I just held my face in my hands.

"AHHHH!" I screamed in agony.

"That's what you get when you mess with a cat!" Meowth bragged as he starred at his "beautiful" long nails.

"Why! You! Little!" I was about to beat the crap out of it but then I saw the perfect chance to grab the remote. As he gawked at his claws I carefully leaned over him and grabbed the remote.

"HA! HA!" I laughed in victory.

"Don't let her have it!" Jesse yelled running down the road. "Get it James!" Jesse ordered him. He nodded his head and charged at me following orders like a loyal puppy. I simply stepped to the side and James fell flat on his face. I pointed and laughed but while I was busy Meowth jumped on top of my head and took the remote.

"Houndour get the remote!" I screamed getting aggravated while throwing out his pokeball. Immediately he chased after Meowth for the remote.

"Jesse catch!" he exclaimed while chucking it over at Jesse. I ran over to obtain it but she had already caught it.

"You'll never get your Charmander back!" she taunted. "James!" she readied him before she tossed it over. As it flew in the air I jumped and reached as high as I could. I felt like I was in slow-mo. The remote soared through the air until my hands intercepted its path.

"Yes I got it!" I delightfully rejoiced. I tightly held it between my two hands and starred at the two buttons wondering which one released the lid to the machine. As I pondered the complicated decision Team Rocket dashed towards me.

Thinking fast I called out to Houndour, "Houndour catch!"

It glided through the air flying towards Houndour. I tossed high up into the sky so Team Rocket wouldn't be able to jump and catch it. Houndour leaped up onto James's head and launched even higher off his rock filled head. The remote easily landed into Houndour's mouth but his sharp canine teeth came down onto the piece of plastic and crushed it into a million tiny pieces.

"Houndour!" we all growled. He stood there with a nervous grin.

"Get him!" Jesse screamed and pointed at my pokemon. The trio dived for him but he quickly dodged them. They all clonked heads and sat there with Pidgey floating around their heads.

"Quick Houndour, tackle that machine over then maybe we can crack open the lid!" I instructed. He plunged at the metal monster and it toppled onto its side. The lid cracked from when it crashed to the ground, so when Houndour and I pulled it open it made it a lot easier. Charmander leaped into my arms and snuggled his head on my shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Charmander," I said gratefully.

"_Char-Charmander_!" he thanked Houndour.

"_Hooooowndour_!" he howled back.

"Alright you two double ember attack!" I told them. Fire shot out of both of their mouths and caught Team Rocket on fire!

"It looks like Team Rocket's running off again!" they screamed as they ran down the road, their broken robot trailing behind.

"Good bye!" I smiled, pleased with our team work. Owen and Penny jogged up to us.

"Where have you been?" I asked knowing they could've helped me out.

"Sorry," Owen apologized for their tardiness.

"I assume you're heading off the to the Saffron City Gym?" said Penny, holding the strap to her back pack that rest on her back.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Well, I better be heading to Cerulean for the next gym bagde," she jokingly rubbed in my face. I laughed. "I hope we see each other soon. I mean in pokemon league, anywhere! Wouldn't that be cool if we saw each other before the league though? We so have to catch up with each other! Don't you think?" she rambled. She talked so much it just made laugh.

"Bye!" I called to her as she head down the road.

"Bye guys!" she yelled back. We waved our hands in the air and said good-bye so Perennial Passdastars, a new friend, and a new rival to look out for.


	21. The Great Psychic Faceoff

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

"Hello, is anyone here?" I called into door way. We finally reached the Saffron City Gym, but it looked deserted, no one wondered in the hallway we stood. There was a bunch of blue doors that lined the golden wall. The hallway was faintly lit and was very narrow and the curved ceilings made me feel claustrophobic.

"I don't think anyone's here," Owen observed as he poked his head into one of the rooms.

"Me either," I agreed.

"This place looks like a cheerful insane asylum," Owen joked looking into one of the many doors.

"Hey Owen, come look at this," I whispered. He jogged over and looked through the door window. In the room were many school desks and about ten people sat at them with spoons in their hands. "What do you think they're doing?" I asked. But before he could answer someone spun us around and scared us both.

"AHH!" we screamed at the sight of the man. He had giant glasses on that took up half his face. His long black hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and a white, dentist mask covered his mouth.

"What do you want?" he whispered angrily.

"I would like to challenge the Gym Leader, Sabrina," I shook nervously.

"So you wish to challenge the great Sabrina?" he questioned.

"That's right," I cheerfully smiled.

"What are those people doing?" Owen asked pointing to the blue door we stood next to.

"They are practicing their telekinetic powers," he told us.

"Telekinetic?" I stumbled over the difficult word. I've heard stories about people having these amazing powers, but I did not know they were real.

"Yes, you have never heard of telekinesis you pathetic children?" he mocked.

"Who are you calling pathetic! We aren't the ones sitting with spoons in our hands practicing magic like some four year old!" I rebutted, not being careful of what I was saying.

"You dare to question the magnificent powers of telekinesis?" he boomed.

"Ha, ha… I was just kidding," I took back, as me and Owen cowered down in fear.

"Alright prepare to wish you never stepped foot in Saffron City!" he warned. He guided us to this giant room that was painted golden just like the hallways. In the center of the room white lines were painted on the floor to create a pokemon battling field. On the far side of the room some small steps lead up to a red chair that looked like a king's throne.

"Look it's that little girl we saw before!" I pointed to the girl in the white dress and hat sitting on the chair.

"Have fun," the man wickedly laughed and left the room.

"Are you Sabrina the gym leader?" I asked the girl. Then a bright spot light turned on a revealed a girl in her twenties sitting on the chair, holding the girl in her lap. She had long green hair and a red, golden button up dress. Long, black boots clenched to her thin legs and she stood up from the bulky chair.

"I think she's Sabrina," Owen said.

"Right," I agreed. My heart started to beat like a bongo drum. I wasn't nervous about her psychic powers before, but now that I was here in front of her, I felt like fainting.

"Sabrina I want to battle you for the Marsh Badge," I told her.

"This will be a one on one battle, agreed?" she said monotonously.

"Agreed," I nodded with a serious face.

"And if you loose," the little girl's high pitched voice stung my ear drum. "You both have to play with me," the girl giggled.

"Sure, I love kids!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Kadabra," Sabrina drearily said. A pokeball floated out to the center of the room and opened up. A gold pokemon with a large, thick tail and mustache emerged from the red light. It held a spoon in one of its hands. What is up with this place and spoons?

"Then I choose Charmander!" I shouted tossing Charmander's pokeball into the arena.

"_Char-char_!" he chimed.

"You can go first," the little girl giggled.

"Alright, Charmander use scratch!" I told him. Charmander charged at the sitting Kadabra, with his claws extended and ready to cut.

"Teleport," Sabrina muttered. Then her eyes began to glow blue and so did Kadabra, then he materialized from where he was standing. Charmander slid across the floor then looked around for the missing, psychic pokemon. He appeared right behind him and I had no time to warn him before he struck again. Waves of multiple colors went through Charmander and made an ear splitting screech. Both Charmander and I covered our ears as he winced in pain from the psybeam.

"Kinesis," Sabrina said dully.

All of a sudden, a blue glow shined from Charmander's body and he stood there with a blank stare.

"Are you alright Charmander?" I asked actually thinking he was evolving. But then he was suddenly picked up into the air by some force, then flung across the room and bashed into the wall.

"Your pokemon has left the field, that means you loose," the little girl snickered.

"I don't care, I give up!" I forfeited running over to Charmander. I held my injured pokemon in my hands and looked up at the Gym Leader who floated back to her throne.

"You lost, now you must play," said Sabrina effortlessly.

"Alright, a promise is a promise," I said.

Suddenly, Owen, Charmander, and I all started to glow blue! I looked back at Owen and we both had scared yet puzzled faces, then everything went black.


	22. Doll House Madness

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

My vision came back to see a giant, stone castle in front of us. Then we all looked down and saw we were in mid air!

"AH!" we screamed as we hit the ground.

"God, she couldn't teleport us nicely?" Owen moaned.

"Where are we?" I got up and looked around. It looked as if we were placed in mid-evil times. There was a castle, then cobble stone roads, and pheasant houses in the distance.

"Don't tell me we got teleported back to like 300 because I'm not bowing down to some fat lard that thinks he can feed me dish water every night!" Owen remarked.

"Owen," I gulped. "This stuff is made of plastic," I was for some reason whispering, while tapping the railing that lead up to the castle.

Owen's eyes widened. We ran inside the tall structure with Charmander just behind us.

"Hello!" I called in the entrance of the castle. My voice didn't even echo off the softness of the plastic walls. Sitting up on two chairs was a middle aged man with brown hair and beard handsomely dressed in a kingly outfit. Next to him in the other golden throne was a middle aged woman, with short brown hair, and she was elegantly dressed in a blue gown.

Owen and I trotted up the steps and looked carefully at the figurines. They didn't blink or breathe or move the slightest bit. They just sat there with a smile plastered on their faces.

"I think they're plastic too," I began to sweat worriedly. We ran outside of the castle still hoping to spot a sign of life but no luck. Suddenly, Sabrina, with the little girl in her hands, walked up to the plastic play set and placed the girl in it. Even though she was way on the other side, she stood like a skyscraper compared to Owen and me.

"We've been shrunken too!" I exclaimed starring at the large girl before us.

"You just had to volunteer to play with her!" Owen said angrily.

"Time to play," she giggled and her piercing voice shook the ground beneath us. She began to run towards and each step she took partially knocked us off our feet.

"_Charmander-Char_!" Charmander nudged my leg and pointed over to a man calling to us from behind the castle. He had a tan hat that cast a shadow on his face. He wore a green wind breaker and grey sweat pants. He was probably fifty and had a dark, blue beard.

I poked Owen and nodded my head towards the man, he saw him and then we both started to run towards him to take cover, also hoping she wouldn't see us trying to escape.

"Don't run my new friends," she stopped in front of the plastic castle and searched for us. We hid behind the palace, leaning up against its plastic frame. The man peeked his head around the corner to see if the coast was clear. She was looking the other way, and that was our chance. The man swiftly got up and secretly guided us to who knows where. We slipped into the front of the castle but she spotted us walking into it.

"Where are you going? Time to play princess!" she laughed. We all stood in the main lobby, Owen and I starred at each other thinking there was no where to escape to. Suddenly, the building began to shake. I almost fell to the ground but I caught myself with the palm of my hands. Charmander clutched to my leg and we looked up to find the little girl peering down into the castle.

"AHHHH!" Owen, Charmander, and I screamed in horror.

"Are we playing hide and seek?" the little girl asked and then giggled as she reached her hand down to grab us.

"She's going to get us!" I cried.

"Hold on!" the man shouted determined. "Teleportation," he whispered.

Once again, my vision went black.

Seconds later we found ourselves outside of Sabrina's gym. Everything was fuzzy for a couple seconds then it all became clear. Owen stood next to me holding his head like he had a head ache. Charmander was below me looking rather dizzy and pale. Then the man that saved us from the terror of a girl stood in front of us, looking at us with pity.

"Thank you, sir," I gratefully appreciated.

"You are still young so I warn you to never step foot in that gym again," he cautioned. "Sabrina is a dangerous trainer that is nearly impossible to beat. You will never be able to beat her."

"Yes I will! We just have to attack before she gets on the offensive with her psychic attacks!" I said certain in my plan.

"Face it kylie she's an insane, telepathic, freak who can beat any trainer that tries!" Owen stated seriously.

"The mostly right," the man nodded. "I suggest you leave Saffron City and never go near Sabrina's gym ever again,"

"NEVER!" I let all the anger explode out of me. "I'm not going to stand here and let you two tell me what I shouldn't do! I know what I should do! I should go back in that gym again, and I should challenge Sabrina again, and I should try over and over until I get that Marsh Badge!" I said confidently. I felt the intense fire burn in my eyes as I starred the men right in the eyes and gave them the most determined look I ever gave. My heart beat fast from the excitement and suspense. What was going to happen next, I wasn't sure. The man chuckled.

"I met a boy like you a long time ago," he muttered, looking down at the ground with a smile. "He was determined to beat Sabrina just like you. He beat the power of my powers and showed he had guts. And what you just said there shows you have guts too, kid."

A relieved smile appeared on my face. I was afraid that I was being rude to the man that just saved our lives, but I guess I just showed him the type of person I am. I'm not going to give up, ever.

"Thanks," I stuttered.

"How the heck are you going to beat her though?" Owen asked.

"Sabrina was little when she first discovered her telekinetic powers. She didn't want to make friends or spend time with her family. She just wanted to be alone to practice her abilities. Pretty soon she destroyed everything and eventually her powers drove her parents further away. That doll she holds is her younger self that just wants to play and make friends. That boy I was speaking of gave Sabrina a Haunter. He was a goofy pokemon that brought the very first smile to Sabrina's face. That doll went away and Sabrina was finally happy and had her telepathy under control. About two years ago that Haunter disappeared. Sabrina was so angry she let her anger out by destroying half the town with her psychic abilities. The town was eventually restored but Sabrina's old self returned. Once again she holds that doll in her hands. Haunter has never returned and neither has the old Sabrina," the man explained.

"That's such a sad story," I sniffled.

"_Char-Char_," Charmander cried tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I'm hungry," Owen interrupted arrogantly,

"You have no heart!" I screamed smacking him up side the head.

"_Char-Char Charmander-Char Char-Charmander_," Charmander said. I looked over at the man puzzled from what Charmander said, also hoping he'd know what he said, but he just shrugged.

"Your its trainer, you should know what is trying to say," the old man informed while folding his arms.

"What was that buddy?" I kneeled down to look him in his cute, round eyes.

"_Char-Char Charmander-Char Char-Char Charmander-Char_," he said gesturing with his hands.

"I think he said we should try and look for Haunter," I translated.

"You might be able to find him in Lavender Town. The Pokemon Tower is where all the ghost pokemon hang around," the man informed us.

Then I proclaimed, "Alright, to Lavender Town we go!"


	23. The Pokemon Tower

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

Night time arose into the sky. Noctowl slumbered on branches in the forest and Murkrow flew above head in the gloomy darkness. A thin wind chilled my bare arms as we cautiously made our way to the mysterious city, of Lavender Town.

"OW! That's my foot, not the road, Owen!" I shouted holding my foot in my hand.

"Oh suck it up! You're defiantly not in as much misery as I am. I have to travel with you!" he complained.

"I don't even know why you're traveling with me anymore!" I yelled right up to his face. He was about to back fire but then we heard some foot steps from behind. They got closer and closer, and we could hear it make its way through some leaves and bushes.

"Anyone there?" I called into the slight fog of the forest. We waited for the follower as it bustled through some more low branches and shrubbery. The leaves on the bush shook until a hole appeared and a green, lizard like, pokemon climbed through the brush.

"Ha, ha, look at that it's just a pokemon," I laughed in relief. I thought it was a stalker.

"What'd you think it was a stalker?" Owen teased and started to walk again.

"Psh, no," I said then caught up to him. We continued to travel through the full grown woods and the entire time I felt like we were being followed. At one point I turned around to see if there was another follower but the only movement was from the soft wind.

We arrived at the Pokemon Tower and it had about four floors in it. I took in a deep breath as the chilly wind continued to make me shiver. I rubbed my arms to relieve the goose bumps but I wasn't too worried about how cold it was. Alls I could think about was what sort of cruel tricks these comical ghost pokemon could pull. A huge shiver trickled down my spine and my teeth began to clatter like maracas.

"Nervous are we?" Owen raised his eye brow.

"What's there to be afraid of?" I nervously laughed.

"Oh I don't know, how about the fact that they could turn you into a ghost and then you can never become a pokemon master! MUHAHAHAHAHA!" Owen jokingly laughed evilly.

"Better watch it or I'll turn you into a ghost!" I threatened unserious.

"It's not too late to back out!" Owen teased in a "spooky" voice.

"Here we go!" I took in another deep breath as I stepped inside the building. It was pitch black, and doors creaked closed behind us.

"Guess they don't want us to leave," Owen muttered.

"Charmander light the way!" I whispered opening up his pokeball. He popped out with a delighted smile and was extremely happy to us.

"_Charmander_!" he said pleasantly.

"Follow us Charmander," I smiled back.

We tip-toed through out the first level of the run down tower. The wood floors creaked and some were even broken. The dark, purple wall paper was pealing off and the mantel of the collapsing fire place in the greeting room was covered in dust. Cob webs hung from the ceilings and murky fog floated with in the building. The tower had a strange smell like air conditioner, flowers, and swamp. It's hard to imagine but that's really what it smelt like.

Charmander's tail dimly lit up each room as we effortlessly searched for the stairs. They were the next step to getting to the next floor and trying to find Haunter, but we were all distracted by the haunted house. We walked in a chain. Charmander led the way with his flame lighting the way, I walked behind him and Owen followed me. As we were walking through a narrow hall way that extended into what would be a living room area, we heard a tremendous creak from behind. We all turned around to see Team Rocket quietly walking into the tower.

"Team Rocket's been following us!" I loudly whispered.

"As long as we don't let them see us," Owen stated.

"Alright," I agreed. We all backed up slowly taking each step with great care. We spotted the stairs and continued to walk to them with our backs facing them, because we were on the look out for the mischievous Team Rocket. Then our backs met another surface and made us all shriek like little babies. We turned around to see it was Team Rocket we had bumped into and they were screaming in terror too. Both of our groups shook of our scaredy cat faces and put on evil glares.

"Twerps!" they exclaimed.

"Team Rocket!" we cried.

"You're in our way of collecting some very valuable, ghost pokemon!" Jesse explained furiously.

"And you're in my way of finding a Huanter!" I told them.

"Well, well, well, twerps and Team Rocket looking for the same thing," Jesse snickered.

"This is an actual first!" James said for some reason pleased with this situation.

"For once maybe forces twerps and Team Rocket can join together!" Meowth remarked while sitting on James's head.

"Yeah right, like we'd help you guys!" I laughed. All of the sudden, the floor beneath Team Rocket gave out, and they dropped to the floor of the basement. They moaned in pain as we peered down into the hole. Meowth was sprawled out on top of Jesse who was squishing James. It was the most hilarious thing I've seen in a long time. Charmander, Owen, and I shared a laugh also partially doing it to mock them and rub it in their faces.

"We'll get you and all the ghost pokemon!" Meowth threatened. But we just laughed even more. It was the best laugh I have had in a while. The sight of Team Rocket in pig pile was hilarious. Owen and I were on our backs laughing our guts out. But Team Rocket was not pleased with our enjoyment of the event.

"Shut up or I'll go up there and steal all your pokemon!" Jesse screamed trying to squirm out of the group pile. It was an even more hilarious sight because she was about to suffocate James.

"Jesse stop you're hurting me!" James pleaded.

"Well, see you next fall, Team Rocket!" I kidded, wiping away my tears.

They all growled in furry.

"Don't have a break down!" Owen joked holding in his laughter.

"C'mon let's head upstairs we'll find more signs of ghost pokemon up there," I said to Owen. He nodded and we got up and began to creep up the narrow stair case. I almost reached the top when a smoking, purple blob appeared in front of my face and yelled boo.

"AHHHH!!!" I screamed loosing my balance and slipping right off the step I stood on. Thank fully, Owen was behind me and caught me in his arms.

"Nice catch," I blushed. Owen put me back on my feet and the blob began to laugh, enjoying the success of his prank.

"_Gastly, Gastly_!" it chuckled.

"You won't be laughing for long!" I warned.

"_Gastly, Gastly_," wept Gastly.

"Aw, don't cry little guy," I said feeling guilty from my unkindness, but he just disappeared floating up through the ceiling. We ran up the steps following the pokemon. We turned into a room finding Gastly and two other purple pokemon sitting on a couch laughing at some T.V. show.

"Well, he gets over things easily," Owen said starring at the Gastly who was laughing along with the others.

I pulled out my pokedex to see what they had on these ghost pokemon.

_Gastly the ghost pokemon, no further information._

_Haunter the evolved form of Gastly, no further information._

_Gengar the evolved form of Haunter, no further information._

"There's no information on any of them!" I said stunned.

"That must be the Haunter that belongs to Sabrina," Owen inferred.

"You're probably right, let's see if it will follow us back to Saffron City," I said jogging up to them. "Hi Haunter, I'm Kylie and I know you are friends with Sabrina," I started but then they all disincarnated into the wall! "Come back!" I called after them. I ran out into the hall way looking in all directions for the group of ghost pokemon. I turned my head to see Owen was standing in the middle of the room dancing the disco.

"Owen, what the heck are you doing? Is this what you do when you're alone?" I laughed but trying to keep a straight face.

"This isn't me!" he tensely shrieked.

"Stay alive, Owen, stay alive!" I joked making the disco hand motion. He growled in furry and embarrassment.

"_Haun, Haun, Haun,"_ Haunter emerged in the middle of the room and laughed.

"Haunter I need your help," I told him. His face looked puzzled yet interested in what I had to say. "Your old friend Sabrina misses you a lot and would love it if you came back!" I continued.

"Haunter!" he pulled on his cheeks and tried to make us laugh, but it wasn't that funny.

"Haunter please," I begged him. He was my only chance of bringing Sabrina back to normal and having a chance of beating her. "Why did you leave Sabrina anyway?" I asked him. It seemed to have clicked something in his mind. Suddenly the room started to fuzz the walls, ceiling, and floor started to melt together, but our feet still stood on the solid floor. The room turned black but I could see Charmander, Haunter, and Owen just fine. Then a flash back from Haunter's past appeared in front of us like a movie projection.

A happy Sabrina, with no doll in her hands, walked up to the Pokemon Tower. Haunter was floating by her side with a broad grin.

"Let's go visit your old friends," Sabrina said. Haunter nodded giddily.

The two walked into the tower. They walked up to the second level where Gastly and Gengar were watching T.V. and laughing. Haunter materialized into the room and gave his old friends a scare. They screamed in fear and Haunter stood by laughing. When they realized it was him they all shared a laugh.

Sabrina walked in with a pleasant smile across her face. She was pleased to see Haunter enjoying his time with the other ghost pokemon. The sun was rising and it was time for the ghost pokemon to say good-bye. Sabrina walked out of the room to let them say their good-byes in peace. They began to cry and hug each other as the thought of not seeing each other for a while saddened them. Sabrina stood outside waiting for Haunter as the sun continued to rise. She circled the outside of the tower hoping to spot Haunter, but no luck.

The projection cut to Haunter who was floated through the wall of the upper floor of the building. He flew down to ground level and searched for Sabrina with a smile on his face. But when he couldn't find her that smile went to a frown. His eyes looked heart breaking and were filled with confusion, where was Sabrina?

The appearance of the room came back to life. The old, rusted ceiling appeared above our heads. The weathered, wood floors creaked once again under our sneakers, and the peeling wall paper drooped from the side of the damp walls.

"So you think Sabrina abandoned you?" I asked him. He nodded drearily. "What if we take you to Sabrina and show you that she really misses you?" I offered him.

"_Haun-Haunter_!" he nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright then, let's get out of this haunted house and bring you to Sabrina," I said with a smile.

"_Haun, Haun, Haun_," he chuckled.


	24. Showdown with Sabrina

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

"Going to beat Sabrina! With my Haunter! We will win! And get the Marsh Badge!" I skipped through the woods and sung.

"Aren't you nervous?" Owen asked trying to act all spooky.

"No. Why should I be? I got Haunter by my side!" I said happily with full confidence.

"I don't know, Haunter doesn't seem too trustworthy," Owen tried to make me nervous but I wasn't. I was behind my pokemon one-hundred percent.

"Haunter!" Haunter smiled pointing over towards a bush. We turned our heads and saw that green, lizard like pokemon again. It waddled its way out into the open shyly and tried not making eye contact. If it was so scared of us, why does it keep following us?

"Why does this thing keep following us!?" Owen asked with his arms crossed.

_Larvitar is a soil eating pokemon. Once it eats a large mountain, it goes to sleep so it can grow. _Dexter told us.

"But there's no mountains up here," I pointed out looking around at the forest. "He must've gotten separated from his mother," I said bending down and putting my hand out for him to sniff, but he was too afraid. He took a few steps back.

"Let's go this is wasting time," Owen began to walk again.

"Bye, Larvitar," I called to him as he grew further.

"_Lar_," he mumbled.

Early that night, Owen, Haunter, and I stood in front of Sabrina's gym. I took in a deep breath and let the warm wind brush against my face. I closed my eyes and imagined I was at a warm, sandy beach. The salt water stung my eyes but I didn't care. I took a lawn chair and laid in the sun.

"_HAUNTER_!" he yelled in my face while smacking two symbols together right near my ear.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed in shock and pain.

"_Haun, Haun, Haun, Haun. Haun_," he laughed.

"Very funny," I sarcastically glared. "But that's alright I don't need the beach because I smell victory!"

I looked behind me to see Owen mockingly lip syncing what I was saying. I just gave him a glare that said "Shut up, moron."

We walked in the automatic glass doors. Once again we saw the golden walls with blue doors. We walked up to the one where we saw the people holding spoons before. We peered inside and now saw them holding cards with different shapes on them. It looked like the other person sitting across from them tried to guess what was on the card without looking.

We left them in peace and hastily turned around hoping that strange man wouldn't be standing there like last time. He was no where in sight. We took our time making our way to the dreaded doors to the arena. When we finally stood in front of them, I took in a huge gulp. I pushed on the handle bar and the hinge on the door made a loud opening as we swung the doors open.

"Here for more humiliation?" Sabrina asked monotonously.

"This time you'll be the one who is humiliated!" I told her not about to back down.

"Kylie, don't forget what happened last time!" Owen reminded me. A flash of the doll house incident flickered in my head, the thought of being trapped there again scared me and sucked out all my confidence.

"But first I brought you back an old friend," I nervously said, pointing to Haunter. He had a big smile on and wasn't afraid of anything.

"_Haunter! Haun, Haun, Haun_!" he chuckled.

"Haunter?" she asked surprised.

"You'll stay with Sabrina forever won't you Haunter?" I asked him smiling broadly.

"_Haun_," he nodded agreeing.

Suddenly, the man that helped us escape the mid-evil doll house before, teleported next to me. He had a slight grin on his face and a little shine in his eyes, hoping that Haunter would bring Sabrina backed to her normal self.

"_Haun, Haun, Haun_," Haunter happily floated over next to Sabrina.

"Hello… Haunter," she said some what lively.

"_Haunter_!" he said crossing his eyes. "_Haun, Haun, Haun_,"

He rubbed up against her shoulder and smiled ear to ear. She seemed a little uncomfortable at first, pulling her hands away. But then a new light shone in her heart and a small smile appeared where a grim frown once was. That smile grew larger as Haunter made more funny faces and laughed along with his old pal.

"Oh, Haunter, I missed you so much!" she said in a much more feminine, sweet, and ecstatic voice. She and her pokemon hugged as the doll that Sabrina used to hold faded away and vanished.

"It's been so long since I've seen Sabrina her old self," the man wept in joy. "Now she can be her happy self," he continued to blubber.

"Father, I'm sorry," Sabrina walked over to us.

"There is no reason to be sorry Sabrina," he said kindly. "I am just glad you are alright and back to your old self," he said hugging his daughter. I didn't know they were related but I guess I can see the resemblance. It was such a heart felt moment and the love could be strongly felt in that room. I looked back at Owen who had a smile that he couldn't hide, no one could stop smiling.

"Sabrina, I know this is sudden but," I started.

"Say no more! You deserve a badge for the great deed you have done. It must've been hard to find little, mischievous Haunter here," Sabrina said smiling at her ghost friend.

"That is very generous, but if you don't mind I would feel better by taking your badge if we had a battle first," I challenged her to a friendly match, me and my morals.

"Alright, once again this will be a one on one battle," she said walking back to the other side of the field. "Choose your pokemon," she told me.

"For this match I'll be using Charmander," I called into the giant, open room. My voice echoed and I hated the sound of my own voice. Charmander materialized from the red light that exploded from the pokeball. He stood sweetly and waited for his opponent. The ball flew back to my hand and I reattached it to my belt.

"Kadabra," she said tossing out her pokeball. The golden pokemon that we lost to before emerged from the bright light that shot from the pokeball. Kadabra towered over my little, innocent Charmander and he began to sweat nervously.

"_Charmander-Char_," he turned his head and looked at me with a not so sure face.

"You got this Charmander! You can beat that chocolate coin aluminum!" I jumped like a cheer leader.

"_Char_," he smiled doubtfully.

"Psybeam, Kadabra," Sabrina started the match, coming at us with a strong attack then she was probably going to finish us off with a confusion. Sometimes it's good to see the opponent's strategy, but if you're wrong, things will come at you surprisingly. What I am saying is, expect the unexpected. I sound so cheesy.

"Charmander distract him with your glare attack!" I shouted out as quickly as I could.

Charmander gave Kadabra a dangerous glare, but it was as if Kadabra was immune. Multi colored waves floated through out the Charmander's circumference and screeched loudly in our ears. The ear splitting noise sidetracked Charmander so Kadabra snuck in a confuse ray. Invisible rays of confusion transported from Kadabra to Charmander and made him practically loose his balance.

"Hang in there Charmander! Come back at him with a scratch attack!" I instructed him. But he didn't listen he faced me with a dazed look, and didn't realize the Kadabra was breathing down his neck, towering over him.

"Psybeam, Kadabra!" Sabrina called out to her psychic pokemon.

Once again, waves of multiple colors drifted through the air as they the deafening sound stung our ears. Charmander and I covered our ears but Sabrina didn't even flinch. The waves over powered poor Charmander and made him collapse to the ground.

"Charmander is no longer able to battle, Sabrina wins!" Sabrina's father declared.

I returned Charmander to his pokeball and hung my head low as Sabrina and her father walked over to me. I wasn't looking for sympathy but I just didn't feel like I deserved that badge, especially for not even winning the match.

"You did I great job," Sabrina complimented, it was so weird seeing her smile.

"My pokemon didn't even get a hand on yours," I pointed out.

"That's alright, you're a striving trainer who is going to become unbelievably strong," Sabrina's father smiled.

"Here is your Marsh Badge, Kylie," Sabrina said unfolding her small hand to reveal a golden circle that shined like crystal.

"I don't deserve that badge," I pushed her hand away gently.

"Of course you do, you brought back two great friends. That is a great deed that deserves to be rewarded," Sabrina insisted with a smile.

"I… guess so," I still felt awkward about taking something that I rightfully didn't earn, but since they insisted I couldn't refuse. This was another step closer to my dream.

"Just take it Kylie, no one will no but us," Owen said getting impatient.

"Exactly," I exclaimed. I faced Sabrina once again and she placed the badge in my hand. A rush of adrenaline climbed up my back as I stood up straight held the Marsh Badge up in the air where it shined in victory. We said good-bye to Haunter and the others and exited the Saffron City Gym.

"Where to next?" I asked Owen with a positive attitude.

"Celadon City," he told me.

"Alright! Look out Celadon City Gym Leader because Kylie can smell victory!" I said confidently as we walked on the sidewalk. That one sidewalk led to a road, and that road led to new towns, where new victories will be found in all sorts of places.


	25. The Personality Switch

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

"Look Owen, it's that Larvitar again," I looked beyond my shoulder and trotting behind us was that same Larvitar that followed us to Lavender Town and back.

"I have no sympathy for followers," Owen said harshly.

"How can you say that? Look how cute he is!" I stopped to face the cute ground pokemon.

"_Lar_," he spoke in a soft, mumbled tone.

"Awwwww!" my heart melted when I saw the innocent face of the Larvitar. He looked up at us with his big, blue eyes, and his cute, little, stubby, arms swung at his side. "I think we should help it!"

"Help it do what? Find its mother? What is the chance of us finding its mother?" Owen said negatively. He was not warming up to this little guy like I was. I can fall in love with any pokemon, even if they're not fire type.

"Let's get moving," Owen mumbled.

"Bye Larvitar. Good luck," I waved to the tiny, green pokemon as we continued to walk towards route 7.

"Come see the great Drowzee and I, his master, Vincent McMagic!" a man with an Italian accent, in a purple cape, was shouting in the middle of the street. He had glasses and blue eyes that could be seen from a mile away. His slimming, black pants went down to his newly shinned, black shoes. He had short brown hair and a thin, Italian mustache. Next to him on a waist high table and a purple table cloth, sat a gold ant eater, looking pokemon. His long noise dangled from his big head and he looked tired.

"What is that?" I said walking up to the man.

"Why it be a Drowzee," Vincent smiled patting the head of his pokemon.

_Drowzee is a pokemon that has the ability to make other pokemon and humans fall asleep. It can tell what people are dreaming by sniffing with its big nose._

"I need two volunteers!" the man cried into the city streets. A crowd began to huddle around the magician and everyone was whispering and wondering what trick he would perform. "Don't be shy! It's a simple trick that will cause no harm! Just fascinate others by the reversal between two minds!" he explained with fancy vocabulary.

"Yeah right, you can't really make two people switch bodies," Owen mumbled to me.

"You doubt the power of my Drowzee, boy?" he asked Owen with an eye brow raised. The entire crowd focused on Owen and waited for his response.

"Um…" Owen was speechless and became nervous.

"You and your friend there! Come on up and I will show you the great ability Vincent McMagic and his Drowzee have!" he waved us over the middle of the crowd.

Owen rolled his eyes doubting this magician real power and dragged to over to Vincent.

"Now how would you describe this young lady's personality?" Vincent asked Owen.

"Annoying, irresponsible, and obnoxious," Owen answered like it was the easiest question in the world. The words traveled through my ear canal and made it all the way to my brain and I felt them stab at it repeatedly. The anger grew inside of me and I prepared to say some, not so nice, things about Owen. Sweet, sweet revenge!

"What about your friend here?" the man asked me.

"First off he's not my friend!" I stuck my tongue out at him and he scowled. "Owen is a selfish, arrogant, unkind child who doesn't care about any one else but himself!"

"Oooooooh!" the crowd echoed.

"You can't even read a map!" Owen remarked.

"At least I don't read at a second grade level!" I argued.

"Alright, let's get on with the show shall we!" Vincent changed the topic to make us stop. I was so infuriated! How can one kid be so obnoxiously selfish and inconsiderate!? He just makes me want to pull my hair out!

"Drowzee will now switch the minds of these two humans and then switch them back!" Vincent announced. "Drowzee its slumber time!" he boomed enthusiastically.

"_Drow-zee_," the pokemon yawned. We both starred into Drowzee's eyes and grew tired. My knees started to wobble as I put my hand up to my mouth and let out a big yawn. Owen rubbed his eyes and we both suddenly collapsed to the ground.

We awoke again moments later totally clueless of what was going on. We must've missed something because everyone was clapping.

"What happened?" Owen asked.

"Is this so called "trick" finally over?" I yawned.

"Now for all to see and hear, the minds of these two teenagers were switched, before your very eyes!" Vincent McMagic exclaimed. The crowd which was twice the size as before roared with excitement and enthusiasm.

"I bet everyone is cheering for me!" I said dusting off my shoulder.

"No one would cheer for a looser like you," Owen teased.

"You are both wrong," Vincent said placing his arms around our shoulders. "They are cheering for me! For doing a trick that has never been done before! For switching the personalities between two people!" Vincent shouted in glory.

"What do you mean?" Owen asked.

"Like we really switched personalities," I doubted.

"That Drowzee is so powerful! I can't believe it can transport so much information from one body to another!" Owen was fascinated.

"Yawn," I said.

"Why do you always have to doubt everything? You're so negative you could make the world explode!" Owen stated meanly.

"You're insults is as bad as your training techniques," I smirked.

The crowd began to depart from the fight.

"What is that suppose to mean?!"

"The only reason you won the KPFT is because you got lucky!" I looked at my finger nails full of myself.

"I don't need you by my hip, trailing behind like a puppy!"

"The KPFT is over moron! You don't need to travel anymore!"

"If you feel that way maybe we shouldn't travel together anymore!" he screamed.

"FINE!" I agreed.

"FINE!" he exclaimed angrily and we both stormed off.

"Looks like we missed the opening act!" a boy's voice said from above.

"But we're about to bring out our next performer!" a girl's voice said giddily.

I turned around to see Team Rocket's Meowth balloon floating above the street.

"Team Rocket!" Owen and I both exclaimed.

"For our next trick Team Rocket will make a volunteer disappear!" Meowth chuckled mischievously.

"Our volunteer will be Drowzee!" Jesse sneered. Meowth pressed a giant red button and a claw extended from the bottom of the balloon and grabbed Drowzee from the table!

"Drowzee!" Vincent cried in terror.

"Lickitung use roll out to break the claw and free Drowzee!" Owen instructed while Lickitung appeared from his pokeball.

"Lick-i-tung!" he cried as he curled up into a ball and rolled rapidly into the arm of the claw. The impact from the tackle didn't do anything ,the metal arm was still sturdy. The metal arm brought Drowzee up to the balloon basket. The claw disappeared back into the bottom on the basket while Team Rocket stuck Drowzee in a clear box. Drowzee didn't look concerned or worried at all. His same old, blank and tired look was plastered across his face. Vincent began to sweat nervously and didn't know what to do. I stood there watching the show like I could care less. The remaining crowd screamed and ran away in fear, while I thought to myself "Team Rocket is nothing to be afraid of."

"Lickitung use thunder bolt!" Owen told him.

"Seviper, stop these twerps from ruining our beautiful plan!" Jesse cried as she tossed Seviper's pokeball down to the ground. Her black, poisonous, snake pokemon appeared from the red light with a concerted look in its eyes. The bolts of lightening that came from Lickitung's body struck Seviper with tremendous force and made him tumble to the ground.

"James, don't just stand there! Do something!" Jesse commanded.

"Carnivine boo these twerps off the stage!" James exclaimed and his green, venus fly trap like pokemon popped out of its pokeball. Carnivine launched into the air a bit the top of James's head.

"Carnivine please!" James begged. "Attack them, not me!"

Carnivine leaped down from the basket and faced Lickitung to fight, for once.

"Alright Carnivine, use vine whip!" James instructed determinedly. Thick, dark green, vines unleashed from Carnivine's shoulder and extended towards Lickitung swiftly.

"Lickitung dodge then use slam!" Owen shouted.

Lickitung speedily jumped out of the way of the fast moving vines then launched towards Carnivine. Vincent and I watched consumed in the battle. Lickitung full out body slammed Carnivine and made him faint.

"Oh no!" James cried.

"Get your pokemon and let's step on it!" Meowth told them in a hurry.

"Right," they agreed. Jesse and James returned their pokemon to their pokeballs and then started up the hot air balloon's engine.

"They're getting away!" Vincent exclaimed starting to chase after the rapidly moving balloon.

"It's no use. We'll never be able to catch up to them!" I remarked.

"Can't your Lickitung use a thunder bolt and pop the balloon?" Vincent asked, trying to think of anything to get his Drowzee back.

"They're too far away now," Owen told him.

Out of no where, we heard soft foot steps from behind. We all turned around to see Larvitar was standing behind us, looking up at Team Rocket's balloon with a determined glisten in his eye.

"Look it's Larvitar!" I tapped Owen's shoulder and pointed to him.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake like an earthquake. We all almost lost our balance and fell to the ground. Chunks of rock up lifted from behind Larvitar and levitated in the air. All of the sudden, they were hurled towards Team Rocket's balloon and slit a giant hole right in the middle of their Meowth Balloon. The hot air caused a giant explosion and Team Rocket was propelled into the air.

"Looks like we're the closing act!" James said.

"But next time we'll have a sold out show!" Jesse cried.

"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the trio shouted as they disappeared off into the blue sky and created a twinkle like a star.

Vincent sprinted over to his falling Drowzee and caught the plump pokemon in his arms. He carried Drowzee over to me and Owen with a pleasant smile on his face.

"That is one Larvitar you have there," he complimented.

"It's not ours," Owen told him.

"Any trainer would be lucky to have such a powerful pokemon like that one," he smiled. "I just remembered, I must switch back your minds,"

"Huh?" we both were clueless.

"Just stare into Drowzee's eyes and you'll be back before you know it!" he told us. We both did so with out questioning, suddenly we both became tired and let out huge yawns, then collapsed to the ground.

We awoke once again moments later and didn't know what was going on.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Where are we?" Owen questioned looking around.

"You both just saved my Drowzee and I would love to reward you," Vincent beamed in delight.

"We did?" I asked still dazed and confused.

"I sure did," Owen boasted.

"He said WE Owen. That means we both helped him!"

"He just didn't want to be rude and exclude you. I really did all the work. The reason you don't remember anything is because you were sleeping like a Snorelax,"

"Mmm hmmm, sure," I sarcastically agreed.

"For the great deed you have done I would like to give you this," Vincent lifted up the deep purple table cloth that appeared to have nothing under it at first. But when he pulled it off a light violet, oval shaped egg sat on the square table. Vincent placed Drowzee on the ground beside him and handed me the egg carefully.

"An egg?" I said holding it out in front of me.

"Yes, if you keep that egg warm and healthy, it will hatch into a pokemon!" he told us.

"Thank you, sir!" Owen said excitingly and seized the egg from my hands. He cradled it in his arms like it was his, when Vincent handed it to me!

"Owen, that's mine!" I exclaimed.

"He said both us helped him! And you are too busy with your pokemon training to take care of it. Don't worry Kylie I'll take great care of your egg!" Owen called to me as he ran with it in his hands down the road.

"Owen that egg is mine! He handed it to me! Give it back! Owen!" I shouted to him chasing him down the road.

I continued to chase after him out of Saffron City. Next stop, Celadon City, where I'd get my newest badge!


	26. Quality Time with Amber

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

We stopped to take a break at a large, fast flowing river that was in route 7. It was gorgeous how the thriving, exotic, trees surrounded the pounding waterfall not to far up ahead. Blossoming flowers kissed the humid air and pokemon pranced freely in the fields near by.

Owen sat on a flat rock, gently rubbing a cloth against the hard egg shell.

"Owen! Give me that egg!" I ordered, starting to get frustrated.

"Go battle some loser!" Owen waved me to go away. He smiled as he looked at the egg proudly.

"Owen!" I was getting annoyed. "That egg belongs to me!" I exclaimed with my hands on my hips.

"Why do you want it so badly?" he asked.

"Why do you want it so badly?" I responded.

"Touché," he said.

"I think I would take better care of it," I sat down next to him on the rock.

"Well, I think I would take better care of it!" he protested.

"This isn't solving anything!" I threw my arms up in the air.

"Don't tell me you two are fighting?!" a girl's voice said from behind.

Owen and I turned our heads to see Amber standing there pushing her glasses back up on her nose. She looked the same but she had her hair up in a low ponytail.

"Amber!" Owen said enthusiastically while carefully resting the egg in a convenient socket in the rock. He jumped up to go see her, I took my time. Amber hugged Owen and whispered something in his ear. When she stopped squeezing him she stepped back and took a good look at him.

"You look the same," she laughed.

"Well, I see your trying out the ponytail," he smiled.

"Oh, you're so cute!" she said and ruffled up his hair. "Well…"

"Well, what?" Owen repeated, totally clueless.

"Did you miss me?" she blushed.

"Of course!" Owen did hesitate at all.

I stood behind them pointing my finger into my mouth in disgust.

"Kylie!" she shuffled towards me with her arms out gesturing for a hug. I played along and lightly tapped her back and rolled my eyes.

"Ready for a re-match, Kylie?" she asked kindly and politely, still with a smile on her face.

"I don't want to use up your time!" I said scratching the back of my head. "Or any of mine," I muttered to myself.

"Excuse me Amber, but I need to talk to Kylie about something," Owen said with an awkward smile and nodded his head over towards a tree. He grabbed my hand and yanked me away from Amber. His hand was warm and gentle yet strong because he was pulling me away.

"Nice, much?" Owen whispered loudly and angrily.

"What are you talking about?" I asked rather loud. He quickly cupped his hand over my mouth. It surprised me and I jumped back while pushing his hand away from me. "Stop touching me!" I yelled.

"Shut up!" he whispered.

"Go kiss your girlfriend!" I told him and folded my arms and looked away displeased. Owen looked at me with an unsure face with an eye brow raised. But suddenly a small, sly, grin appeared on his face.

"What?" I puffed.

"Are, are you jealous?" he smiled broadly like he just earned a million bucks.

"Are you delusional?" I remarked in a dopey voice.

"Listen, I really like Amber, so could you be nice to her?"

This was shocking. Not the fact that he admits he likes Amber, but the fact that he is asking me to like her too. Only time people do that is if they are good friends, or was once dating the person they're asking.

"Why do you need me to like her?" I asked quietly.

"Because… you're my friend," he smiled and alls I could do was smile back. We walked back over to Amber and engaged her in more conversation. A movement in the bushes startled me and Amber. Larvitar hopped out of the bush with a pleased grin on his face.

"Will that thing ever stop following us?" Owen asked getting frustrated of being followed by him non-stop. Larvitar walked up to Owen and looked up at him.

"Awww how cute!" Amber squatted down to pet him but he was shy and grabbed a hold of Owen's leg. "He seems to like you Owen,"

"I wish it didn't," he muttered.

"How about that battle Kylie?" Amber asked standing back up again. "I think this time I'll be a bigger threat,"

"Since you want to so badly, I can't refuse," I faked a smile.

We stood far apart and she had her Mareep by her side while Charmander stood by mine. I wasn't about to take it easy on this princess. Sure her Mareep saved my life back in Vermillion but this girl just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sure there was a shallow girl under that cold, robot exterior.

"This will be a two on two battle, agreed?" she stated.

"Agreed," I called to her.

"Mareep be quick and use thunder shock!" she shouted. Static electricity crackled from Mareep's bushy wool and suddenly a powerful bolt struck towards Charmander.

"Charmander, dodge and use ember!" I told him

Charmander quickly rolled out of the way and the lightening was absorbed into the ground. He sprung himself into the air using his tail and shot sparks of fire at Mareep. Mareep's wool caught on fire and shriveled into ashes.

Amber gasped. "Mareep return!" she aimed her pokeball at her burned pokemon and reached her sweaty, nervous hands to her belt and grabbed her next pokeball.

"I choose-" but suddenly Amber was interrupted by some laughter from above. We all looked up to see Team Rocket's Meowth balloon floating high over our heads.

"Team Rocket get out of here!" I ordered through my teeth.

"You mustn't mumble dear it's not lady like," Jesse teased.

"But what would be awful nice and lady like is if you handed over your Charmander!" Meowth said dangling his paws over the edge of the basket.

"Psh, like I'd do that," I murmured.

"We asked nicely," Meowth sneered.

"Look out below!" James said as he dropped a small, black, shinny ball over the edge of the hot air balloon basket.

"It's a bomb!" Owen realized.

"Everyone look out!" I yelled. Before chunks of earth flew into the sky and smoke filled the air, I saw Larvitar push Owen out of the way of the bomb and I saw Amber try to jump away from it. I tried to run but before I knew it I was flying through the air. I peeked my eyes open and the smoke from the explosion burned them, but I saw Charmander soaring through the air next to me so I pulled him securely to my chest. His long nails dug into my arm in fear but I didn't mind. I just hoped we landed on the ground safely. I opened my eyes again to see the smoke was nearly out sight but there was no ground below us! We started to fall down next to the waterfall.

"AHHHHH!!!" Charmander and I screamed in terror. This has happened to us before but the waterfall was not this big and long. Thankfully we didn't get caught in the current of the intense river flowing down and we just free fell until we hit the water. It hit us with tremendous force and I felt light headed as I quickly swam to the surface needing air. I exploded from underneath and gasped for air. I enlarged my lungs as big as I could to take all the healthy oxygen in. Then I realized I had lost Charmander!

I rapidly swam to the coast of the large lake and caught my breath on my hands and knees as water dripped down my nose. My ponytail holder had fallen out and my longish, brown hair was pasted to my face as I got back up on my feet. I peeled it off my cold, wet skin as I looked around for Charmander.

"Charmander! Charmander!" I repeated over and over walking around the muddy water line.

"He's over here!" a dull voice called. I turned my head so quickly I hurt my neck but I sprinted over towards it with out notice.

I saw Amber kneeling down next to Charmander who was laying on his back on some grass. His skin was pale, he breathed heavily, and his tail flame was almost out. I collapsed to my knees and swung my back pack around and plopped it on the ground. I dug through it searching for some super potion.

"Have anything that will help him?" Amber asked concerned.

"Ah ha, I knew I had some," I said relieved while holding up the super potion. I grasped the wet bottle in my hands and softly sprayed it on Charmander's forehead and tummy. After a few seconds, he weakly opened his eyes but smiled when he saw me.

"Oh thank god, you're alright Charmander," I sighed and felt my heart still beat fast. I squeezed the small lizard in my arms and thought that I was so lucky that he had survived a predicament like this twice.

"Glad to see you Charmander," Amber patted his head.

"Take a long rest buddy," I said to him as I opened up his pokeball and it sucked him inside. "Where are we?" I asked standing up and then realizing I had a bloody cut on my knee.

"It looks like you need some super potion too," she laughed. "I believe this is Sunset Forest," she informed looking around at the wilderness.

"How do we know where to go? What about Owen?" I asked.

"I think he didn't get caught in it enough to be blown over the edge like we were," she said. I took out my map and got a good estimate of where we were.

"The nearest town is Water Crescent Town," I showed her the map.

"Well, let's head there and catch up with him. Or at least find a phone and call him somewhere,"

"Yeah,"

We began to walk through the forest in silence soaking in the calmness of the forest and listen to the soft purr of Pidgey slumbering in tree branches. The grass swayed in the slight breeze and the sun was about two hours away from setting, so the sky was turning that beautiful orange and pink.

"How many badges do you have now?" Amber asked creating casual conversation. I knew what she was up to. This mischievous know-it-all wasn't going to fool me. First, she creates casual conversation. Then she changes the topic closer to what she wants to hear, in this case I knew she wanted to talk about Owen. Then third, she'd come right out and ask it, ask if I like Owen. This was the simple three step procedure that most junior high school girls will pull on you. Sometimes they aren't even your friend. They just want to know, for some odd reason, what person you have a crush on. I wasn't that behind since I didn't go to school. I still know these things.

"Four," I answered bluntly.

"How many pokemon you got now?" she asked.

"Including the egg, four," I responded simply once again.

"How many pokemon does Owen have?" she asked.

And there it was, Step two, the switch over.

"That Larvitar is basically his now, so three," I answered with a little detail that time. I didn't want to seem totally uninterested.

"I was pretty sure you were going to say four," she chuckled. I actually let a faint smile show and it was a real one too, it wasn't one I faked.

"How is Owen?" she looked slightly at the ground in embarrassment but still waited for my answer. Now this was a change of plans. When someone switches it up like this on asking how the subject is, that most likely means they want to know if they like them. It was actually fun being a normal teenager for once. I hate this kind of romance, puppy love, gah gah crap, but this time it was different.

"He likes you, Amber. He likes you a lot," I told her with a sincere smile. She smiled and blushed but just kept looking at the ground passing by our feet. It was kind of cute how these two got along. Ew, was that me warming up to Amber?

We continued to walk until it got too dark to see where we were going. The moon had risen into the midnight sky. The thin crescent shined as bright as all the stars. One thing I loved about the wilderness is you could always see the stars. You can't see them back home or in a city.

"We should settle down here for the night," Amber said finding a flat, not damp spot to camp out for the night.

Amber wandered close by collecting fire wood and I rolled out my sleeping bag. She came back with a few thick branches and a bunch of twigs. She set them on the ground and I sent out Houndour to start the fire tonight, since Charmander needs his rest.

The fire crackled like ever other night, yet I didn't get tired of the sound. I sat on my sleeping bag and searched through my back pack for a band-aid for my knee, because it was still bloody and I didn't want it to get infected. I finally found a big one the would fit over the scrap perfectly and I peeled the white sheets off both sides and stuck it on my injured knee.

Amber sat on the other side of the fire on her sleeping bag which was purple and green strips. Mine was boring navy blue. She hugged her knees up to her chest and held a fire stick in the other and tapped against a fiery log. The night was unusually quiet. The usually vibration of a forest was gone and the pokemon were all out of sight.

"You look tired," I chuckled with not much effort.

"Yeah," she smiled still keeping her chin on top of her knee.

"Not used to it being so quiet," for once I was the one trying to create conversation. She let out a quiet giggle. "Owen snoring in all…" She didn't say anything but she just smiled still gazing into the camp fire. After that I gave up and just went to bed. I felt the heat of the fire beat against my face and I heard Amber climb into her sleeping bag. I opened my tired eyes to see her facing the other way. I closed them once again and fell off into a deep sleep.


	27. The Sunset

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

I woke up to the strange sound of giggling. I could hear Amber laughing from a far then I suddenly felt a warm, heavy breath of air against my face. I opened my eyes quickly as if I had just been shocked, then I saw Owen kneeling down over me with a black marker in his hand.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed pushing him away from me. He and Amber began to laugh hysterically. "Drawing on a girl when she's sleeping is funny?"

They just laughed even harder. I got so furious I stormed away just dragging my sleeping bag at my side, feeling lazy not rolling it up. I didn't even think of how she found Owen, I was just too angry. How could they play a prank on me just for their own enjoyment? I thought I was his friend but I guess not.

"Kylie, wait up!" Owen called after me, but I kept walking without looking back.

Owen and Amber caught up to me and I quickly rolled up my sleeping bag and stuffed it in my back pack. I stood still for a moment trying to calm myself down before I exploded.

"Kylie, you ok?" Owen asked. I began to shake still trying to hold in my furry. I took in a deep breath and began walking again in silence. I saw Owen just shrug his shoulders and they both continued on too.

Owen and Amber talked quietly behind me while I lead the way. I wasn't interested in talking to a skunk bag like her. I change my mind, I was not warming up to her. The sun started to set once again in Sun Set forest and the sky turned bright, citrus orange and light pink.

"I think we'll make it out of here by tonight," Owen guessed.

"That's good I could use a good night sleep in a Pokemon Center," Amber said stretching her arms up.

"Me too," I nicely agreed.

"Oh no!" Amber suddenly shouted in a disappointed tone.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked.

"I think I dropped my glasses case back on the trail or something. Will you come look for it with me?" Amber shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Sure," said Owen. "Stay here, we'll be right back," and they both disappeared into the forest, scanning the ground. With my instinct of naturally not trusting people, I quietly and secretively followed them. Besides what if they never found their way back to me?

Staying far behind I could see their mouths moving and of course smiles on their faces. I rolled my eyes as I continued to duck under a bush. They once again squeezed through the brush and I followed behind them afterwards. A little after I started to follow them I began to regret it. I should've just made my way to the next town all by myself, I can tell Owen would be much happier traveling with Amber.

Finally, they came to a stop and the beautiful sun set was at perfect view. Amber had the expression on that they should just give up looking but at least they tried. They shared a suspicious laugh and then Owen turned to start walking again, but Amber grabbed his wrist. They turned and faced each other and gazed into each others eyes. I rapidly hid behind a rock and leaned against its hard, cold surface. I was really regretting following them now. I turned my head once more to see them kissing, and one, slow tear rolled down my cheek.

All three of us stood at the edge of the forest and we faced Amber knowing it was time to say good-bye.

"Well, I guess it's time to say good-bye," Amber said with a sad smile on her face as the sun's last rays shone on all of our faces.

"Yeah," Owen sighed.

"There's some ruins just north of here that I would really like to check out. So maybe I'll catch up with you guys later?" she shrugged.

"I sure hope so," Owen said enthusiastically while I glared at the two disgusted.

"It was so nice seeing you Kylie!" she said and then shockingly gave me a friendly hug.

"You too, Amber," I patted her shoulder lightly.

"Bye Owen," she said hugging him tightly.

"I'll miss you," Owen whispered in her ear. Alright Owen don't break down in front of me, please!

Amber stepped back and flashed her smile once again at us and then turned around and walked the dirt path that lead into the sun set. I looked over at Owen who couldn't stop starring at her fading into the sun. I guess it was one of those sweet, romantic, moments but I was luckily there to ruin it!

"So Owen, what's it like to have a long distance relationship?" I teased nudging him softly in the side.

"What are you talking about?!" he asked stunned and turned bright red.

"So did you kiss her!? Did you have a settlement moment in the sunset?" I taunted.

"What about you Miss green eyes? Have fun stalking us?!" he asked with an eye brow raised and a smile that read "I know it all."

"What are you talking about?" I said trying to cover up the fact that he saw me following them.

"I saw you trailing us! Don't lie!" he chuckled in glory.

"Oh please, like your love life concerns me!"

"Maybe it does?!" he sung as he began walking on.

"Maybe you want it to!" I called back at him.

So we made our way to Celadon City where I would get my next gym badge, I wonder how many times I'll have to say that?


	28. Attack of the Gyrodos

CHAPTER 28

"Where should we head next?" I asked Owen as we walked along.

"I've told you a thousand times! Celadon City has a gym!" Owen said getting frustrated and annoyed.

"I know I just keep asking to annoy you and it gets me pumped!" I said throwing my fist up into the air.

"Don't get too excited. We're going to have to make a stop at Water Crescent Town for food and potions," he informed, setting down the egg carefully then up unzipping his backpack to appear empty.

"Are you kidding me?! It seems like every day we're buying more stuff!" I whined.

"If you stopped loosing pokemon battles and making your pokemon get hurt, we wouldn't have to stock up on potions so often," he folded his arms pleased with his insult.

"If you weren't so hungry all the time we wouldn't have to buy so much food!" I screamed at him.

"Let's just get to Water Crescent Town," he ended the argument.

We made it into town and searched for the Pokemart. The houses were small and quaint with flowers beautifully spread out in the town. Villagers and tourists wandered the streets with happy, smiling faces and everything just shined brightly in cheer.

"This town is nice," I remarked pleased.

"Yeah if you like some little, perfect, candy land," Owen mumbled and cuddled with the egg.

"Is that Kylie!?" I heard a boy's voice say from behind.

I turned to see my old best firend from Petalsburg, Parker. He had short, light brown, hair and hazel eyes just like he used to, but there was something so different about him. When we were little he used to be a little over weight but he looked slim and solid now! It was amazing what a few years could do! He also wore a grey T-shirt and jeans with old, black converses.

"Parker is that you!?" I asked still shocked running over towards him.

"Who else would it be?" he chuckled as we gave each other a friendly hug.

He showed us all the hot spots and where you can get a good bite to eat. Without us even asking, he brought us to the Pokemart where Owen picked out some medical stuff. Owen was always in charge of stocking up on the potions and heals and such. We took a break on a bench beside the sidewalk in front of a beautiful ocean view.

"So how long have you been traveling Kylie?" Parker asked me creating conversation.

"Oh, about four months I guess," I rounded up in my head.

"That's actually not that bad. Some people I've met have taken like a year just to get 4 badges… then again they never turned out to be any good," he pondered.

"Thanks," I chuckled.

"So how long has Owen been around your arm? Hey Owen is she treating you good?" we both gasped in disgust and shock.

"Parker!!!" I pulled back in shock

"Dude, what the heck was that?" Owen asked raising a brow and stopped mothering the egg.

"Sorry, but you guys have been traveling together so I just assumed you were boyfriend and girlfriend," he chuckled embaressed while scratching the back of his head.

"So Kylie you haven't changed much at all," he said changing the subject.

"Is that a good thing?" I cringed.

"Of course, I'm glad you stayed the same," he smiled.

"Thanks, Parker I'm glad you're the same too, I mean on the inside," I complimented nicely. "I'm sure you have the ladies running after you," I joked.

"Oh yeah, they can't keep their paws off this," he kidded sarcastically and we both laughed.

"I'm sure you could get any girl you wanted," I said with out really thinking.

"So Owen, why are you traveling with Kylie?" Parker asked either ignoring what I said, or just didn't hear me.

"Ummm…" he stopped washing the egg and looked forward blankly.

"Well he entered the Kanto Pokemon Fighting Tournament and after he won we've just been traveling ever since. I mean he's lucky he stuck around, I mean he never keeps his hands off that egg," I answered for him.

"Well that's nice that you two get along," he said stretching his arms up exahstingly.

Owen laughed. "Oh we get along alright," he said sarcastically, and just shook his head and laughed.

"That's right, I mean how could I ever get along with a skeptic punk like you!?" I stood up and faced the pimp squeak.

"Listen, Miss "over optimistic" I only stuck around with you because I knew you wouldn't last out here without me!" he rebutted seriously.

"I don't need you!" I shouted angrily.

"Who collects the fire wood? Who finds the money to buy supplies? Who actually BUYS the supplies? Who heals your pokemon when they're sick? Who takes care of the three year old that stands in front of me!?" he yelled, which was surprising because Owen rarely raises his voice.

"You just insist on doing all of that stuff, besides the one that says taking care of me," I folded my arms and looked away annoyed.

"I guess that answers my question…" Parker muttered. "Well, while we have a perfect opportunity to change the subject, we might as well, shall we?" said Parker. "Want to hear a funny story about when Kylie was little?"

"Gladly," Owen sat back down and continued mothering the egg, I just let him take care of the egg so it wouldn't cause another fight.

"Well, this one time at Kylie's 8th birthday party, her family and all her friends, including me, were gathered around the picninc table outside and her mom brought out this huge, deligate cake. She set it on the table and lit all the candles and we all sung happy birthday to her. Well there was a Combee nest near by with honey in it, and Kylie's allergic to honey so when she was about to blow out all the candles, she let out a power sneeze and her face was planted into the cake! She lifted her head up and it was covered in blue frosting and she started crying! It was hilarious!!!" Parker laughed.

"…..Parker……" I shook in anger about ready to smack him upside the head. I was about to smack Owen too who was laughing histarically beside me.

"Or this one time my family invited her along on a fishing trip. So we grabbed our rods and got into the boat but unfortunately her line got hooked on the dock's rope and when we took off and the line reached its longest length, she was so small she flew off the back of the boat and landed in the water! And when we pulled her back in a tiny Magikarp was chomping on her head! It was so funny! You just had to be there!" Parker told loud and clear.

"….. TELL ONE MORE EMBARESSING STORY AND I'LL BEAT YOU UP AND WHEN YOU GO BACK HOME YOU'LL BE ALL EMBARRESSED BECAUSE YOU GOT BEAT UP BY A GIRL!" I screamed. I was so furious and embaressed at the same time! Those stories were far too embaressing to ever be told again! I looked to the side and saw Owen cracking up and pointing at me again.

"Shut up!" I smacked him on the back of his dumb head.

"When is the last time you've been fishing, Kylie?" Parker asked as we walked out of the Pokemart into the warm air.

"It's been years," I stood up straight and stretched my neck up high.

"We should go fishing!" he suggested.

"I'm not so sure…" I wasn't thrilled about the idea.

"C'mon it won't kill ya," he persuaded.

"Alright," I gave in and laughed.

We boarded a small motor boat and set out to sea. Parker and I each had our own fishing poles while Owen sat back and cleaned the egg, shinning it like it was a sports car. We hooked some bate on the end of our hooks and both of us casted out our lines at the same time. I always loved the sound of a fishing line being chucked out into the water.

"I bet I can catch something before you," I teased.

"Bring it on, Scorch," he responded confidently. Parker had always been on the shy side but he was always fun to hang out with.

Suddenly, my line became tight and it felt like something was tugging on the end of it. The rod almost slipped out of my hands but I tightened my grip in time before it was pulled away. I pulled back with all my might feeling that this was a big one.

"Woah, you got one!" Parker immediately dropped his fishing pole and got behind me to help me pull. It was kind of awkward how he placed his hands on my hips but I know he was just trying to help.

"We got it!" I said happily hauling the Magikarp out of the water, and it was big.

"High five, Scorch," we celebrated and slapped each other's hands.

"Pretty impressive, huh Owen?" I turned towards him and swung the Magikarp in his face. Strange bubbles started to float to the surface of the water then burst. More and more floated towards the top and then ripples in the water appeared. Scaring us all, a giant blue, dragon like pokemon exploded from the surface of the ocean and towered over us on the small boat.

"What is that!?" I screamed as my heart almost pounded out of my chest I was so frightened.

"It's a Gyrodos!" Parker told us also shaking in fear.

"RAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!" it's loud, screech shattered our ear drums and echoed in the blue sky.

"It doesn't look happy!" I quivered.

"I don't think it is happy!" Owen pointed out and grasped the egg tightly.

"Please don't hurt us Mr. Gyrodos," I stuttered in terror.

"RAARRARAARRRRR!" it cried again as it darted at us.

"AHHHHHH!" we all screamed as it tackled our boat. Giant waves splashed up on the dock.

"QUICK START THE ENGINE!" I couldn't help but scream as loud as possible.

"It isn't working!" Parker tugged on the starting cord but it wasn't making a difference.

"What do we do?!" I asked almost about to break out in tears.

"I don't know…" Parker muttered as our boat began to sink since almost half of it was torn off.

Another loud Gyrodos call shook the ocean and 6 more Gyrodos appeared and surrounded us as we were slowly sinking! "RARRRRRRRRRRRR!" they called to one another.

"All of this from one over protective mother!?" Owen remarked.

"Gyrodos do not liked to be messed with," Parker informed us.

"RAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!" they all cried at the same time.

"We're all doomed!" Owen exclaimed.

The group of Gyrodos charged at us and tackled the boat once again. It fell into pieces and when one of the Gyrodos whacked it with its giant, fish tail, the boat went flying up into the air. All of us free felled towards the water and our bodies smacked against the surface and stung our skin. It felt like there was glue inside of my lungs and I couldn't expand them to breathe. A hard, cramping pain dug at my sides as my lungs begged for air. I rapidly tried to swim to the surface but all the material from the broken motor boat had started to float down and close in on me. Soon I couldn't see the surface of the water or any light at all. The salt stung my eyes but that was the least of my worries as I looked helplessly in every direction.

There was no escape of the sinking boat and I couldn't see Parker or Owen anywhere. I hoped that they were alright and had survived because by the looks of it, I wasn't going to. I started to feel light headed and I could feel the effect of no oxygen flowing to my brain. I got an insanely sharp headache for a split second then it felt like my body had just shut down, and everything went black.

"Kylie… Kylie… Kylie wake up," I heard a faint voice speak to me.

"Wah…. What happened?" I woke up finding myself lying down on a sandy shore. I blinked my eyes a few times to make my vision become clear and see Parker crouching next to me with a worried look on his face.

"How did we survive that Gyrodos attack?" I asked feebly with my memory coming back to me.

"Ho-oh must be looking out for us," Parker smiled dimly.

"He must be… where's Owen?" I asked sitting up and holding my aching head while looking around for the blonde boy.

"He's over there," Parker pointed at Owen's beached body. "But…"

"But what?" I struggled to stand up. "Is he alright!?"

"Um… he's not breathing…" Parker looked down at his feet, hanging his head sadly.

"WHAT!?!" without hesitating I quickly sprinted over next to him and felt for his pulse on his cold neck, but nothing beat. Lifting up his green sweatshirt to expose his pale chest I leaned my ear against his soundless chest.

"He went under the rubble to go save you… he some how got you out from under the sinking boat… but unfortunately he couldn't save himself," Parker explained to me cheerless.

"Owen?" I softly called to him hoping he could still hear me and my eyes started to water. "Please Owen… come back," I mumbled trying to control my tears. I looked over at Parker who stared back at me with an upset and depressed look in his eyes.

"You can't be… dead… you just can't!" I wept.

I thought to myself now that Owen was dead I wouldn't have any one to travel with. All those times I fought with him weren't worth it if I knew his life were to end like this. I just wished he could come back so I could tell him I'm sorry.

Parker gently placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked back at him and when I saw his watery eyes I burst out and sobbed.

"Owen… please come back…" I hung my head down and my tears rolled down my cheeks and onto his deceased body.

"I… I am so sorry, Kylie…" said Parker as he nodded sincerely.

"I would say it's ok… but it isn't!" I sobbed. I weaved my fingers into his and clenched his ice cold hand tightly as it dangled effortlessly in my hand. No more Owen… no more sarcasm or wise cracks or meaningless fights with him. No more hearing his growling stomach all the time or hear him talk about boxing for a million hours. No more blonde hair or stub earring. No more Owen.

Suddenly, I felt his fingers move slightly. Hope was reborn inside of my spirit when Parker and I saw his foot vaguely twitch. He slowly and weakly opened his crusty eyes and looked up at the sky with a blank look. His eyes gradually drew towards mine and we starred into each other's eyes smiling gladly that we were both alive.

"Kylie," he spoke softly.

"Owen! I'm so glad you're ok!" I lifted him off the ground and embraced him tightly as tears of joy rolled down my face.

"Me too," he whispered.

"I thought you were… dead," I stuttered still collecting myself.

"I did think I saw my paren- I mean grandma,"

"That must've been nice to see her again,"

"Yeah…" he looked down depressed.

"We have to get you to a doctor," I told him.

"We're on a stranded island. Good luck finding one," Parker stood up and looked around at the palm tree infested beach.

"You mean we have no idea where we are!?" this was no surprised being lost on an uncharted island.

"If I just had a notebook and pencil…" Parker muttered to himself as he unzipped his backpack and took out just what he needed. He began to scribble and write hastily. "If we were heading east when we went out in the ocean, and we washed up on land which must mean we're on one of the Case Islands which are a small cluster of Islands that rarely have cities or civilization located on them. Then we must be on the largest one where there is a small village south of here and if we were east ended up on the Case's which are north then that must mean we have to walk that way!" Parker concluded.

Owen and I looked at him stunned with our eyes wide open and our jaws dropped in amazement of his intelligence.

"When did you learn to think like that?" I asked him.

"Lots of books and lots of reading them," he smiled proudly.

"Well, let's head west then!" Owen said trying to get up but didn't have the strength so Parker and I had to lend him a hand. His hands were still dead feeling and cold.

"Yes, west we go!" Parker agreed cheerfully.

"Owen you are in no condition to walk, you practically just came back from the dead!" I exclaimed. "Plus we'll move much faster by horse," I said enlarging Ponyta's pokeball.

"Good idea, Kylie," Parker complimented.

"Thanks. Come on out Ponyta!" I hurled her pokeball up in the air and she neighed enthusiastically when she popped out. "Ponyta sprint as fast you can to the nearest hospital," I told her.

"_Neighhhh_," she nodded.

All three of squeezed onto my small horse and she darted off kicking up the damp sand behind her. Owen held on tightly, wrapping his arms around my waist as I gripped Ponyta's neck for all of our safety, because if I let go all of us would've fallen off.

"Faster Ponyta! Faster! Faster! Faster!" I commanded.

So we all rode off searching for any sign of life to get Owen source of heat stat. If we weren't fast… Owen might leave us again and next time for good.


	29. Island of the Farfetch'd

Chapter 29

"Will he be ok doctor?" I asked the elder doctor who wore a green dress shirt and kcaiki pants with his doctor coat. His grey hair was cut in a buzz cut style and wrinkles sagged on his forehead.

"He just needs to stay for the night so we can watch his heart rate," he told us. Parker and I sighed in relief. "You may go visit him if you'd like," the man smiled.

"Thanks," we said and then walked into his hospital room. We tip toed in silently as Owen slumbered. He looked peaceful yet sore so we turned around to let him rest. I quickly walked over towards the door to try and catch it before it closed and woke up Owen. The noise from the hinges fixing into each other woke him up and he rubbed his eyes drowsily.

"Hey guys," he greeted kindly.

"Hey Owen," I whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright," he responded weakly. "Depends, how much longer I have to spend in this boring place," he looked around at the blank, white walls.

"You'll just need to spend the night so we can make sure you're heart is ok and not in shock," the doctor interrupted. "I'm Doctor Goldriver. I just need someone to step outside with me and tell me the entire story," he asked.

"I was there," Parker raised his hand slightly.

"Great, let's just step outside, son," he waved him towards the door. The two left the room and shut the door behind them leaving Owen and me in the room alone.

"Tired?" I asked casually.

"Not really. I feel just fine," he folded his arms stubbornly and looked out the window.

"I don't like medical attention either," I sat down on a chair that was placed next to his bed, and then I noticed he had an IV needle stuck in his arm.

"Seemed like you didn't want to leave the hospital in Vermillion," he joked.

"Yeah, well sometimes it's hard to bounce back from an injury like the ones we've had," I smiled looking down at the wrinkles in my jean shorts.

"Oh please, you just got a chunk of pavement in your eye. I almost drowned!" he taunted and tried to start an argument but I didn't bother coming up with a rebuttal.

"You almost drowned to save me," I don't know why, but I started getting teary eyed.

"I guess…"

"Owen… I'm really sorry," I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. "For," I started, but then got cut off by Doctor Goldriver, who came in to tell me that I should let Owen rest. I waved to him as I left the room along side of the doctor. The doctor told me that it was a miracle that Owen had made it, so I should seriously let him sleep.

"Is Owen alright?" Mr. Boxer asked concerned, from the green computer phone.

"He's ganna be fine Mr. Boxer," I assured him.

"Kylie, you treat him good ok? Now that this incident has happened I'm going to start to worry, and I'm really not the worry wart type," he chuckled.

"There's no need to worry Mr. Boxer. Owen can take care of himself. Heck, he could probably survive out here alone, no problem," I guaranteed the elder.

"I suppose you're right. Owen has always been the independent type,"

"When he's well enough I'm sure he'll call you, sir," I smiled.

"All right, take care Kylie," he waved.

"You too, good bye," I waved back and then the screen on the computer phone turned blank. I hung the phone up then spun around in the swivel chair. Parker was sitting next a table covered in magazines reading Coordinator's Monthly. I walked over to keep him company and we talked for a while until it became late and we both fell asleep in the waiting chairs.

I promptly picked up my head and looked around the room nervously. I had a horrible dream that I was stuck under all the rubble in the ocean again, and I couldn't escape it. There was no Owen to save me from my death. I lightly smacked my forehead over and over again to get rid of the dreaded thought of death.

"Parker! Parker wake up!" I shook him back and forth.

"What! What happened?! Is it morning!?" he asked and rapidly turned his head looking in all directions.

"Yeah, calm down," I laughed.

"Sorry, it's kind of scary when someone wakes you from a dead sleep shaking you and screaming your name!" he kidded sarcastically.

"Sorry,"

"It's ok," he reassured with a smile. He had a cute smile that made his nose crinkle up. "Any news about Owen?" he yawned stretching his arms up in the air.

"No," I mumbled looking down at my feet worriedly. Before I knew it, Doctor Goldriver was pushing Owen out in a wheel chair.

"Owen!" I jumped up and exclaimed happily and relieved.

"Hey," he greeted softly and weakly.

"He's ready to go, just let him take it easy," the doctor told us.

"Will do," I answered.

We waved good bye to the doctor as I pushed Owen out in his wheel chair. Parker trailed along side as we looked around clueless at where we were and wondered which way we should go to get back on the trail towards Celadon City.

"Now how do we get back to Water Crescent Town?" Parker scratched his chin and looked in all sorts of directions. Once again he pulled out a notebook and pencil and started to draw scribbles all over the page, mumbling nonsense to himself.

"So if we're on the Case Islands and we need to get back to Water Crescent Town….. end up on that trail which leads north…. And that way would lead south…… that's where we need to go…. But then we'd end up east when we want to go west…. I GOT IT!" he declared. "Just head this way and we'll be on our way!" he guaranteed pointing towards a trail that coasted the beach shore.

"Thank goodness we have Parker with us. I mean, seriously when did you get so smart?" I asked still stunned of his talent, he just shrugged modestly.

"Ok, stop pushing me Kylie, I know how to walk!" Owen refused to be pushed in the wheel chair and struggled to get up on his feet.

"Owen, sit down!" I ordered him.

"It's not like I'm paralyzed or anything! Just let me walk on my own!" he yelled stubbornly. I folded my arms and watched the boy try and get up. He held his ribs and winced in pain as he knees wobbled unsteadily.

"Face it Owen, you can't walk!" I told him. He slouched back down in the chair and pouted tenaciously. Suddenly, a flock of birds wiped by over head as their loud calls roared through out the forest.

"What are they?" I asked as I pulled out my pokedex.

_Farfetch'd the wild duck like pokemon that protects its staff no matter what. Farfetch'd use the staff to help balance itself and protect itself from predators. Farfetch'd take things that don't belong to them and are very possessive, they can be known as the thief pokemon._

"I want one of those!" I ran after them.

"Even though they aren't a fire type?" Owen teased.

"All right Farfetch'd, prepare to be caught," I warned it confidently. I enlarged a pokeball and chucked it at one of the wild Farfetch'd without even looking it whacked the pokeball away with its green staff. "Being uncooperative are we?" I said to the brown bird.

"Is that a Farfetch'd egg?" Parker pointed at a light purple egg that laid in one of the numerous beach grass nests. Owen and I gasped at the sight and we both knew that it was our egg!

"That's our egg!" we exclaimed.

"How do you know?" Parker asked unsurely.

"Don't you remember? The one that Owen was holding? It was the same shape and color and looked exactly like that!" I explained to him.

"I guess so," Parker raised his eye brow uncertainly.

"We have to get it back!" I cried.

"It's most likely not even a freaking Farfetch'd egg," said Owen, still unhappy about the fact that he can't walk stably.

"Houndour come out and help us get the egg!" I tossed out his pokeball and he immediately popped out of the pokeball and readied himself for action.

"_Hound_!" he howled as he kicked up dirt with his front paw.

"_Farfetch'd_!" the leader of the pack stepped forward and proclaimed.

"Houndour blast an ember at them to scare them away from the egg!" I told him.

"_Houndour_!" he cried as bits of fire flew out of his mouth and landed in front of the flock of Farfetch'd, it scared a few of them away but most stood strong and didn't back down.

"Far!" the leader of the Farfetch'd called as he picked up the egg and began to fly away.

"WAIT!" I screamed after the fleeing flock of ducks. "I guess that's why they're called the thief pokemon,"

"We have to get it back!" Owen got up without any trouble and began to chase after the fast moving group of Farfetch'd.

"Owen wait up!" I called after him then Parker and I began to run after him and the flock of Farfetch'd.

My breathing become harder and heavier as we ran longer chasing after the air born egg robbers. I didn't pay attention to my tiredness, I just kept my eye on that one Farfetch'd with our egg.

Suddenly, Owen went flying through the air tripping over a rock in the sand. He slide in the soft sand but still landed hard on his stomach making it even harder for him to get up, like it wasn't already difficult.

"Are you ok man?" Parker asked him.

"Yeah," he responded weakly. "But we can't them get away with MY egg!" he said quickly getting back up and began to chase after the disappearing flock of birds once again.

"Owen take it easy!" I shouted at him, but he was too stubborn to listen.

When we finally caught up to Owen who was just trailing behind the Farfetch'd flock, the egg slipped from the leader's claws and began to fall to the ground. We all gasped in fear of the egg dropping and breaking from the long drop it had to travel, but seeming like it happened in slow-mo, Owen dived forward and saved the egg from falling, grasping it tightly in his arms. He rolled on the sand tumbling with the egg tightly clenched to his chest. When he stopped rolling he lied there motionless. Farfetch'd, not minding their own business, gathered near Owen and began to attack and peck at his defenseless body as he provided a shield for the egg.

"Houndour use ember!" I told him as fast as I could to get them away from Owen who was already weak from practically dying.

Sparks of steaming fire spat out of Houndour's mouth and pelted all the Farfetch'd making them squawk in pain as the fiery coals burned through their feathers and created blisters on their skin. It's what they deserve after what they've done to us. The birds departed the premises and flew away not looking back, we quickly jogged over next to Owen to make sure he was all right.

"You ok Owen, you're getting hurt a lot in the last few days," I chuckled jokingly.

"Yeah I'm fine," he closed his eyes tightly trying to hide the pain.

Suddenly, a long crease cracked down the side of the egg, shocking us all. I could see the egg shake in Owen's hands. What ever pokemon was inside was trying as hard as it could to break through the tough exterior of the egg. Before we knew it, the entire top half of the egg had cracked through and a small, purple, tadpole like pokemon peaked its head out.

"AWWWW! It's so cute!" I shrieked in excitement. The small pokemon blinked blankly at Owen but after a few seconds of being exposed to the fresh air he smiled and squealed giddily.

"_Poliwag_!" it spoke in high pitched and adorably squeaky voice.

"Awwwwww it's so unbearably cute!" I danced thrilled. "You're our little miracle!" I talked to it in a baby voice.

"_Poliwag! Poliwag_!" the baby boy said happily while smiling at Owen.

"It seems to like you Owen," I pointed out still happy about the hatching of our new team member, yet a little down since it seems to like Owen so much.

"Well, he is the one that took care of it during its egg stage. Maybe Poliwag just knew Owen was the one, the one that took care of it so well," Parker assumed rationally.

"_Poliwag_!" Poliwag exclaimed as he jumped into Owen's arms excitedly.

"Owen," I sighed sadly but I knew what I was about to do was the right thing.

"Yeah?" he asked as the pokemon jumped up and down joyously in his arms.

"You keep Poliwag," I told him decisively.

"Really!?" he gasped shocked and amazed at what I was giving up after all of our arguing over the egg.

"I know you'll do a great job of raising it and you both seem to already have this special bond. Plus, you were the one that took care of it the entire time. It wouldn't be fair if I took it since I didn't help much," I said glum.

Owen nodded sincerely accepting the gesture.

"Thanks Kylie, it really means a lot," he said. "Wow, did Kylie just give in!?" Owen asked aloud and chuckled.

"Guess so," Parker chortled.

"So Poliwag it looks like you'll be traveling with me from now on!" Owen told him pleased with the results and reached for a pokeball in his bag.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! What do you think you're doing!?" I stopped him before he made the new born go in a pokeball.

"This is called a pokeball, where pokemon live! And Poliwag is a pokemon!" Owen said slowly and rudely to me like I was stupid.

"I know that, but what you obviously don't know is that new born pokemon can't just hatch then be sent straight into their pokeball! It needs to grow and experience the outside life a little more! Or at least more then 12 seconds!" I explained to him.

"I know what I'm doing, Kylie!" he told me irritably.

"You're lucky I'm around because unlike you, I have experience with new born pokemon so I can help you along the way step-by-step, even for a trainee like you," I placed by hands on my hips and slightly boasted.

"I know a lot more about pokemon then you do!" he argued.

"Well if you know so much, how many meals does a new born need to eat each day?" I asked him while knowing the answer in the back of my head. "HMMMM, Mr. Pokemon Expert!" I teased.

"When ever it cries just feed it," he said dumbly.

"NO! You should feed it 4 times a day and play with it constantly to socialize it and get it comfortable around humans!" I lectured him.

"Oh, it's fine!" he waved his hand stubbornly at me.

"I can't believe I let a nincompoop like you take care of a live thing!" I threw my arms up in the air frustratingly.

"_Poliwag_!" it began to weep.

"Now look what you both did! You made it upset! Maybe if you two didn't fight so much everyone could just be a lot happier," Parker said aggravated.

"Don't cry Poliwag," Owen comforted and rocked him back and forth in his arms.

"_Poli_…" the pokemon sniffled.

"It's ganna be okay," Owen calmed.

Poliwag stopped crying and then slowly shut its eyes effortlessly.

"See without any arguing we can all travel in peace," Parker whispered trying not to wake up the Poliwag that nestled against Owen's chest.

"I guess you're right," Owen admitted.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"YOU KIDS STRANDED!?!?!" a sudden voice screamed to us. We all turned to see a massive yatch cruising by in the ocean, with a middle aged man in a hawiian shirt and sandles with socks on asked us. He was buff and square with a bushy brown mustache just like his hair.

"YES!!!!" we all answered back immidiatly.

"Good thing I found you kids, you would've been stuck there forever. Unfortunatly, the Case Islands are uncivilized, but they are a great spot to go fishing," he smiled welcomingly as we climbed onto his boat.

"No fishing!" all of us exclaimed.

"Not fans of fishing I see," the man chuckled. "We'll reach Water Cresent Town by sun set, hope that's where you're heading," the man informed us.

"Yeah, that's actually where we started," I told him scratching the back of my head.

"Cute Poliwag, did you catch it while on the island?" the man asked creating conversation as he steered the boat.

"It hatched from an egg we got as a gift actually," Owen confessed.

"Miracles happen when you need em' most," the man stated cheerfully.

The miracle was that this man found us and brought us all the way back to Water Crescent Town. With a new member added to our group and our lucky streak just starting out, hopefully it will continue on as we make our way to Cerulean City.


	30. Remembering Growlithe

Chapter 30

"Thank you for the ride, sir," I thanked as we unboarded the giant yatch.

"No problem kids, anything for striving pokemon trainers!" he chimed.

"_Poliwag! Poliwag_!" the baby pokemon sung in happiness, then without warning leaped off Owen's shoulder and dived into the water.

"Poliwag!" Owen called after it as it disappeared under the surface of the ocean water.

"Owen you can't go after him, you're too weak!" I restrained him back with my arm.

We waited for the small pokemon to float to the surface and appear alright but there was no sign of the newly born. Owen grinded his teeth as we leaned over the water standing on the creaking, old dock. Suddenly, bubbles began to surface and then pop on the face of the water. Poliwag burst from the ocean and the water glistened as the pokemon happily cheered its name. It landed softly on the dock in front of us then shook the water of its scaly, tadpole, skin.

"It's an adventurous one," the man chuckled.

"Too adventurous!" I exclaimed displeased of the uncontrolled Poliwag. "Owen you need to keep an eye on him at all times!"

"You sound like a mom," he made fun of.

"Maybe that's because you act like a child," I puffed angrily.

"Thank you once again for the ride here," Parker said politely to man.

"My pleasure," he smiled.

Our group began to walk away with Poliwag being scolded by Owen as he perched ashamed on his shoulder. The sun was setting just like the man told us we'd get here by. The sun's last rays were stretching over the roofs of the tall buildings that populated the tropical town. It was good to be on civilized land once again.

"Parker you know what would be fun?" I said breaking the silence.

"What's that?" he asked clueless.

"If we had a pokemon battle!" I suggested.

"Nah,"

"Huh? What's wrong?!" I said disappointed.

"I have to get going. And I am sure you and Owen do too," he looked away gloomy.

"I always have time for you, Parker,"

"Listen Kylie," he said sternly with a sudden straight face that some what intimidated me. "It was great seeing you again but we know the facts, you like Owen and that's just fine," he turned away and bowed his head sadly, I stood there speechless not knowing what to say. I turned my head to see Owen far behind feeding Poliwag on a bench, so I didn't have to worry about him hearing us.

"I…." I sighed downhearted.

"Kylie," he turned back and faced me.

"Yes?"

"I want you to have this," he placed a shinning pokeball that sparkled in the setting sun.

A content smile appeared on his face.

"Remember when we were little and we'd spend hours outside playing with that Growlithe?" he chuckled while reminiscing.

"Yeah," I laughed along while remembering how one time we got lost while playing tag with it in the woods and our neighbor had a search party and came looking for us. Good times.

"I want you to take that Growlithe Kylie," he gently slide his hand off the surface of the pokeball and put both his arms at his side while giving me a reassuring nod.

"Parker… are you sure? I mean… this your Growlithe…" I looked down at the pokeball feeling guilty.

"I just…" he looked off his shoulder and closed his eyes absorbing the warmth from the setting sun that was almost gone. "I just want you to remember me,"

"I'll always remember you Parker, you're my best friend," a tear rolled down my cheek. Parker wiped the tear off gently with his thumb, smiled at me, then turned and began to walk off in the distance.

"Bye Parker," I closed my eyes and whispered to myself. "Good-bye,"


	31. Lusting Over Lucien

Chapter 31

"Go Growlithe, use bite!" I told him.

Growlithe launched into the air and sunk its canine teeth into the opponent, the Oddish's, skin.

"_Oddish_!" it screeched in pain.

"Oh no Oddish return!" the young trainer I was battling recalled.

The boy walked over to me and Growlithe disappointingly but showed good sportsmanship by shaking my hand.

"You and your Growlithe are a really strong team," the boy complimented.

"Thanks," I beamed in pride.

"See ya," the boy waved bye and walked off in the tall grass.

We walked along in the tall grass where pokemon lurked sneakily everywhere. Growlithe was a great guard dog along the way, I guess our bond after all these years is still as strong as it used to be.

"_Growl! Growl_!" Growlithe barked suddenly, then sniffed the air.

"What is it Growlithe?" I asked him.

"_Growl_!" he proclaimed then darted off.

"Growlithe wait up!" I called after him.

I chased after Growlithe as long as he kept running. Before I knew it, I fell behind and lost track of him. I began to walk around calling his name but it was no use. I walked forward some more, ignoring that fact that Owen had fallen behind. Looking in all directions I couldn't find Growlithe anywhere.

"Growlithe!" I shouted, then suddenly the earth underneath me began to shake and the ground crumbled down and let me land in a giant, deep hole. "OWWW!" I winced as I lied on the damp dirt in the hole.

"My ankle!" I cried while holding it in pain. "I must've landed on it funny,"

"Hello?" I heard a sudden voice yell.

"Oh thank goodness," I sighed in relief. "Can you help me out!?" I yelled to the stranger. Then the person peeked their head over and it was a teenage boy, an attractive teenage boy! He was tall and tan with a baseball cap on with his brown hair flipping out from under it. He wore a black sweatshirt which was unzipped to show an awesomely designed dark charcoal shirt that had black lines scribbled all over but made out the word Pokemon, it was neat.

His bright green eyes stood out more then anything, they were so calming and tranquil and you felt like the weight of the world was off your shoulders. His smile was so adorable and at the same time put you at ease.

"Take my hand and I'll pull you up," he stretched his arm down for me to hold on to. He was very strong, since he was able to pull me up without me doing much work, but he didn't look totally buff.

"Looking for a Growlithe?" he asked raising an eye brow while smiling suspicious. I looked down at his feet and Growlithe sat there panting with his wet tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

"There you are you mangy beast!" I bent down and hugged my Growlithe and ruffled up his fur. "Thanks," I told the boy shyly.

"No problem," he laughed and knelt down and pat Growlithe with me.

The thing I was hoping wouldn't happen, happened, an awkward silence came among us and I tried my best to think of something to say, but all my casual conversation starters just disappeared.

"Well, thank goodness you found me," I smiled awkwardly breaking the silence.

"Lucky I was just in the right place at the right time," he scratched Growlithe's belly. It was so weird, it was like the fact that we had no idea what to say bothered him, he was just so laid back, I wish I could be more like that.

"So are you a pokemon trainer?" I asked him creating conversation, feeling a little more comfortable knowing he was a friendly guy.

"No, I'm a breeder, I love taking care of pokemon, plus I was never any good at the whole battling thing," he explained.

"I'm a trainer and I hope to collect 8 badges to enter the Indigo League," I told him.

"Well you got one great of a Growlithe right here," he complimented.

"Thanks,"

"My name is Lucien by the way," he stood up and put his hand out.

"I'm Kylie," I shook his hand loosely.

"Well, Kylie it looks like your Growlithe likes me," he pointed out since Growlithe was getting pet a lot by him.

"Yeah, he loves to be pet," I informed Lucien. _Lucien I like that name_ I thought to myself. "So how does the whole breeding thing work?" after I asked that I realized that I just made a fool of myself since that sounded totally wrong, but thankfully he just laughed.

"I mean what do you really do?" I asked, then realized that wasn't any better. I just planted my red face into my hands embarrassingly.

"It's ok I know what you're trying to ask," he couldn't help but laugh.

I laughed along still humiliated.

"What I do is travel around and help any pokemon in need of medical help. Like… if I see a sick Rattata I'll go heal it," he explained.

"That's so sweet!"

This boy is perfect! He's cute, sensitive, laid back, funny, polite, kind, and did I mention he's cute!?

"Your Growlithe looks a little dehydrated after all that running, why don't we find a stream for a break?" he suggested.

"Sure," I answered slyly but inside I jumped with joy.

We found a small stream not to far from where I fell in that hole. Growlithe drank from the clear, fresh water happily while Lucien and I sat in the swaying grass.

"So Kylie what other pokemon do you have?" Lucien asked.

"I collect fire type pokemon, so I have a Charmander, a Ponyta, and a Houndour," I listed while showing with my fingers.

"Fire type huh?"

"Yeah," I sighed.

We sat there for a moment absorbing the cool wind blowing lightly against our faces. For once there wasn't many trees around so for a second I looked around for Owen but there was no sight of him.

_I wonder where he is_.

"_Growl! Growl_!" Growlithe barked protectively at some bushes and a group of trees.

"Did you find something Growlithe?" I asked him while getting up off the ground.

"_Growl! Growlithe_!" he woofed.

The leaves of the bush bustled about until finally a yellow worm like pokemon with a silver horn on its forehead slugged out of the bushes sickly.

"Oh no, it looks hurt!" I exclaimed cupping my hand over my mouth worriedly.

"It'll be alright, it looks like it just got poisoned in a battle," Lucien assured me. "There, there little guy. This Weedle will be just fine," He knelt down beside the collapsed pokemon and slide his backpack off his shoulder. He pulled out a small medical kit and took out a small, red and orange spray bottle. Lucien firmly gripped it in his hands then sprayed it softly on top of the Weedle's head. It chimed happily then squirmed away.

"You did that so quickly and professionally! I'm surprised you aren't like a pokemon doctor or something!" I said.

"Thanks, but I'm really not that good," he said modestly.

"Have you ever caught any of the pokemon you've healed?" I asked him.

"No," he answered bluntly.

"Why not!? Sounds like you've encountered hundreds of amazing pokemon,"

"I have, I mean I've seen all sorts like Togepi, Tryanitar, Dragonite, and even some ghost pokemon like Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar. But I only really want to catch one pokemon, and that's a shinny Spinarak," he told me.

"Shinny Spinarak?" I questioned clueless of what shinny meant.

"It means they're just different colored then normal, but shinnies are especially rare," Lucien informed me.

"Oh,"

"That's why I came here to this forestry, swamp area, to find the Spinarak I've been dreaming of,"

"Lucien, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help you find your dream pokemon," I said confidently forming a fist.

"Thanks Kylie," he chuckled.

We walked along and entered into more of a forestry area where the trees started to increase in numbers and become more cramped together. Forest pokemon, like Caterpie, Ledyba, and Paras stood their distance from us strange humans walking through the forest. I had no idea where we were going so I just followed Lucien.

"Here we are," he declared with a smile.

"So why are we at this tree?" I asked as we stood in front of a large oak tree.

"I made a special recipe of honey for the shinny Spinarak," he told me while pulling a filled jar of honey out of his backpack. "I'm hoping that this will draw the shinny Spinarak near this tree,"

"Sounds like a good plan,"

"You see, forest pokemon love honey from trees, so trainers put their own honey on trees to attract certain pokemon," he explained as he lathered the tree in his special honey. "Want a taste?" he asked holding out the jar.

"Isn't it like… pokemon food?" I asked uncertain.

"No, it's just some honey with extra sweetness added to it," he laughed. I dipped my pointer finger into the jar covering the tip of it in the sticky honey, I licked the honey hesitantly but it tasted like nothing I've ever eaten before.

"It's so sweet!"

"Yupe, I hope it's just right for the Spinarak's taste buds,"

"Well, I think it's delicious!" we blushed, but suddenly, we heard a movement in the bushes near by.

"Quick! Let's hide it could be a pokemon!" he pulled my arm and tugged me behind a tree trunk with him. We peeked our heads around the side waiting for the pokemon to come out in the open. Oddly, we both heard faint voices arguing with each other and to our surprise Team Rocket made their way out of the bushes and walked over to the tree we had covered in Lucien's special honey.

"I heard a shinny Spinarak has been spotted in this here forest! We are going to catch it and it will be the perfect present for the boss!" Jesse fought, trying to get her way like usual.

"Shinny pokemon don't just walk around out and about Jess, they're rarer then you think!" James tried to convince her, but it was no use, she was off into her dreaming land.

"They're after the shinny Spinarak too!" Lucien whispered in shock.

"No surprise there, they're Team Rocket and they go after any valuable pokemon they have the chance to catch!" I explained to him.

"Just image the boss gardening outside on a relaxing day in a late summer afternoon. His vegetables and fruits are thriving but oh no! A pack of evil Wurmple are eating all of his precious plants! With the shinny Spinarak at his side, that little bug pokemon can use string shot and make a web to keep all the Wurmple from eating his garden! The boss will be so happy with all of his fresh fruits and vegetables and who will he have to thank?" Meowth dreamed.

"Team Rocket!" Jesse and James cried in glee of the thought.

"It is the perfect plan!" Jesse beamed proudly and swiped some honey off the bark of the tree with the tip of her finger, then licked it off. "Oh my goodness! This is the best tasting honey on the face of the earth!" Jesse exaggerated.

James and Meowth also took a taste and smiled knowing that they all brain stormed the same idea.

"The honey!" the three exclaimed.

"We can sell this marvelous honey and make millions!" Jesse shouted happily and mischievously.

"First we figure out what's in the stuff then we make more of it and sell it for a hefty price!" Meowth daydreamed.

"It'll be so good, people will buy it no matter how much it cost!" James added delightfully with his Mime Jr. mimicking his every move.

Then, including Team Rocket, we heard another bustle in the bushes near by. Team Rocket zipped behind a tree trunk like we did and steak out for what would come out of those bushes. We were all hoping it'd be the shinny Spinarak, but Lucien and I were hoping Team Rocket wouldn't capture it first.

"It's the Spinarak!" we all jumped out and proclaimed as a blue and purple spider like pokemon crawled out of the bushes.

"Twerps!" the trio identified.

"Team Rocket!" we fired back.

"Back off! That shinny Spinarak is ours!" Jesse claimed.

"We were here first! Don't think that we didn't hear your evil plans to sell the honey and give the Spinarak to your boss!" I admonished.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk," Jesse clucked as she waved her finger back and forth. "It is rude to threaten people like that, especially when the thing you are claiming is rightfully there's!"

"Come again!?" I asked intolerable of their possessiveness.

All of the sudden, James took out a small, metal, cage and placed the shinny Spinarak inside of it. The pokemon looked miserable and scared as it was cramped inside.

"Give it back!" I ordered.

"Ugh, these twerps are getting really annoying, always telling us what to do!" Meowth complained while rolling his eyes. "I'll teach you to keep your comments to yourself!" he extended his claws and leaped into the air.

"Growlithe use flamethrower!" I told him. Fire shot out of Growlithe's mouth and burnt the stubborn cat pokemon to a crisp.

"Lesson… learned?" Meowth mumbled as he collapsed to the ground.

"Seviper use smokescreen!" Jesse yelled as she tossed out her snake pokemon's pokeball. The black snake popped out hissing its name, then without faltering released a large amount of black smoke from its mouth, filling the air and making it impossible to see Team Rocket.

"I can't see anything!" Lucien cried.

"Me neither!" I coughed.

When the smoke cleared Team Rocket and the shinny Spinarak were no where in sight, which brought Lucien's spirit down.

"Looks like they won," Lucien admitted defeat.

"We'll find them, don't worry," I reassured him. "Look here," I pointed to a trail of yellow honey leading in a direction. "Team Rocket dumbly left a nice trail of honey for us to follow,"

"Let's go!" Lucien waved and darted off following the track.

We ran as fast as we could, never letting our eyes leave the sight of the path of honey. Finally, it came to a stop where we found Team Rocket about to lift off in their Meowth head balloon.

"Stop right there!" Lucien commanded.

"AHHHHH!" Team Rocket screeched in shock of us finding them.

"How did you find us!?" James asked.

"You guys, ever so smartly left a trail of honey for us to find," I pointed out with a proud smile.

"I guess your shoes couldn't resist the sweetness either!" Lucien joked as Team Rocket starred clueless at the bottom of their honey covered feet.

"Never mind that! Seviper get them!" Jesse yelled.

"Carnivine go!" James released Carnivine's pokeball into the air, and once again the grass type pokemon leaped out and clamped onto James's head. "Go after them not me!" James pleaded.

"Charmander go let Spinarak out of the cage! Houndour help Growlithe fight off Team Rocket!" I tossed both their pokeballs out on the ground. Charmander immediately busted from the pokeball and raced over to the cage to let the shinny Spinarak out. Houndour emerged from the red light of the beam, ready for battle.

Charmander fiddled with the cage not knowing how to open it as Spinarak, nervously but patiently waited. Houndour and Growlithe growled at the opponents waiting for them to attack.

"Seviper use poison tail!" Jesse told it, the black snake pokemon's tail began to glow a poisonous purple.

"Carnivine use bullet seed!" James shouted, and yellow specks flew out of the giant plant's mouth and shot at Houndour and Growlithe, hitting them with great impact. Seviper then twirled its tail around, whipping both of them across the face.

"This isn't working," I sweated worriedly. "Hurry it up there Charmander!" I yelled to him.

"_Char…_" he murmured doubtfully. He fidgeted with the lock and key but couldn't figure it out.

"Growlithe use flamethrower! Houndour use faint attack!" I told them. Growlithe's flamethrower and Houndour's tackle worked as a perfect combo to hold Team Rocket off, but there still wasn't much time, Charmander was still having trouble opening the cage.

"_Spin! Spina_!" the Spinarak squealed.

"_Char! Char_!" Charmander tried to calm it down.

"Stop there gecko!" Meowth said abruptly. "Furry swipes!" Meowth cried as he launched towards Charmander with his claws extended.

"_Growl_!" Growlithe barked as he shot Meowth with a fiery hot flamethrower attack.

"Furry… gone…" Meowth puffed smoke out of his mouth as he fell to the ground covered in black soot.

"I'll help you Charmander!" Lucien sprinted over to assist him in opening the cage. "This key doesn't fit!" Lucien exclaimed and alls I could do was smack my forehead with my palm.

"Keep trying!" I told him.

"There, got it open!" Lucien declared happily and the shinny Spinarak jumped into his arms happy to be free once again. Lucien and Spinarak turned and faced Team Rocket with determined and fierce looks in their eyes.

"Ready Spinarak!?" he asked the pokemon by his side.

"_Spin_!" it nodded assuring.

"Use pin missile!" Lucien cried.

Long, narrow, glowing yellow rods darted towards Team Rocket then pelted them all stinging them with each hit. The evil crooks shrieked in pain as the needles shot at them like bullets firing out of mouth. The pin missile caused an odd explosion sending Team Rocket plummeting in the air creating a twinkle in the blue day sky.

"Great job you two!" I flattered.

"Thanks, Kylie," Lucien smiled as Spinarak climbed up on his shoulders.

"You two sure make a great team," I blushed.

"Thanks," he turned rosier. "You want to come along with me Spinarak?" Lucien asked the bug pokemon.

"_Spinarak!_" it jumped giddily.

"Alright then!" he nodded. "Yes! I caught Spinarak!" Lucien shouted happily and posed in achievement.

"Congrats!"

"I never would've done this without your help, Kylie,"

"Well I don't know about that!" I waved and blushed modestly.

The sun had set and the moon was glistening in the sky shaped as a crescent, reminding me of our time in Water Crescent Town. I felt bad for Parker and how he just sort of… left. But I am still glad we are friends. I started to think about my childhood in Petalsberg back in Hoenn as we walked along the dirt path, some what searching for Owen. I was too busy lost in my thoughts. I remembered how we used to go to Slateport on some summer days and swim. There I learned how to surf, I haven't said this yet, but I love to surf. I would've at Water Crescent Town but there was no time with all the attacking of the Gyrodos.

"It's so peaceful out here," I said closing my eyes for a moment.

"I'm really glad I found you in that hole today," Lucien smiled.

"Me too," I smiled back.

"Why don't we stop here for the night, we can find your friend in the morning," Lucien suggested.

"Sounds good," I agreed. "Charmander I choose you!" I opened up his pokeball and he appeared with a pleasant smile. "Charmander use ember on this pile of sticks to start a fire," I instructed.

After the fire got going and Charmander was returned safely to his warm pokeball, we sat on a large branch warming ourselves in front of the camp fire. It was quite chilly out with the night breeze sending goose bumps down my back. My teeth clattered as I rubbed my bare arms.

"Here, take my jacket," he wrapped the grey sweatshirt around my shoulders.

"Thanks," I shivered.

"Soooo… how come you like fire pokemon the best?" he asked building up conversation.

"Well, my grandfather is the gym leader on Cinnabar Island," I informed him.

"The fire pokemon gym," he finished.

"Yeah," I looked at him delightfully surprised that he knew that.

"Fire pokemon are great, but me I love all pokemon, they all have their own strength and weaknesses," he starred into the roaring camp fire. "All their own unique capabilities,"

"Yeah," I sighed. "It's pretty darn amazing," I laughed.

"Look at those two Hoothoot right there," Lucien pointed to two brown bird pokemon huddled in a hallow tree, they snuggled up against each other adorably, keeping one another warm.

"They're so cute!" I whispered.

"So are you," he flattered.

"Man it's cold out," I let my bangs dangle in front of my face. Before I knew it Lucien had his hip touching mine, with his arm around my shoulder. We smiled slyly at each other then closed our eyes. I placed my hands on his shoulders and he had his arms around my waist. My stomach was filled with butterflies and my heart pounded anxiously. Our lips grew closer and closer coming in for the kiss. But the magic ended unexpectedly when a stir in the bushes surprised us abruptly.

"Hello?" I called into the dark woods and scooted away from Lucien.

"Hey is that you Kylie?" the voice asked.

"Owen?"

"Hey can't believe I finally found you," he panted as he climbed out of the bushes.

"Yeah…" I sighed in disappointment. I looked over at Lucien who gave me a kind wink which brightened my spirits.

"I'm Lucien," Lucien got up and put his hand out politely, _he's such a gentleman_ I thought to myself.

"Owen," Owen stated while shaking his hand firmly.

"Trying to break my hand?" Lucien asked jokingly.

"Maybe…" Owen said awkwardly. He raised his eye brow suspicious looking of me and Lucien so I tried to look casual.

"Well, I'm off to bed," Lucien exhaled noisily.

"Good night," I said to everyone, and slipped into my sleeping bag.

The fire was dimming down so all that was lit was the burning coals underneath the stacks of disintegrating firewood. The moon barely lit the night sky since a large, dark cloud was covering it up from shinning. I lied there on the hard surface of the ground, thinking about how laying on the ground was never this uncomfortable. Then I thought about Lucien and couldn't take my mind off of how sweet and generous he was, and even though we had almost kissed and it would've been a really awkward situation if Owen had seen us, he still stood up to shake his hand. What a guy.


	32. Bye Lucien, Hello Arguments

Chapter 32

The next morning I woke up and found Lucien sitting on a rock, watching the flowing water in the river drift by. It was a lot earlier then we normally wake up. The daily dew on the grass had just appeared and the morning fogginess made it hard to see but was refreshing and cooling. The sun had barley raised so it was actually quite dark out.

Oddly, a guitar laid down beside the rock, and from the looks of it, it looked old and used often. A guitar pick was trapped between two of the 6 strings so it wouldn't be lost.

"You're up early," I yawned then sat next to him.

"It's hard to sleep when such a pretty girl is on your mind," he looked over at me and smiled charmingly, causing me to blush.

"I wrote you a song," he told me excitedly then picked up the guitar.

"I'd love to hear it," I said scooting closer to him.

"I thought you would," he chuckled while fishing the pick out from in between the strings. He began to strum gently back and forth on the strings creating beautiful chords that hummed together perfectly. It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard.

The boy began to hum along with his strumming making a peaceful melody. The whole time I smiled thinking this guy was perfect.

"Kylie," he sang, catching me by surprise suddenly starting to sing. "Kylie when you smile you make my day as bright as the sun," he was actually really good. I began to get teary eyed as he continued to sing, rhyming each sentence nicely containing some sweet words about me.

"Ohhhhh Kylie," he finished then placed the guitar down carefully.

"Lucien that was so…"

He suddenly wiped my tear away with his thumb, making me feel a little resistant to kiss since it sadly reminded me of Parker. But the moment was so magical it was perfect. I leaned forward slightly towards him placing my hand on top of his then lightly kissed him on the lips.

After the kiss I couldn't stop smiling of pure joy. But when it time to say good-bye and leave Lucien, that smile turned into a disappointed frown. Owen was awake and strangely happy to say good-bye to Lucien, he could be respectful and at least shake his hand. I guess I got a little too happy when Amber left.

"So I'll see you around?" Lucien asked with some sadness in his voice.

"Of course!" I assured him.

"I'm planning on staying in the forest for a while and help heal more pokemon in need, along with the help of Spinarak," Lucien looked down and smiled at his pokemon that sat at his feet. "Thanks for helping me find the shiny Spinarak I've always wanted," he thanked.

"You two look great together," I joked. Lucien then stepped forward and presented me with a gentle peck on the cheek. I turned to see Owen scowling with his arms folded. A little jealousy I see?!

"Bye!" I called to him as he grew smaller and smaller.

"Bye everyone!" he called back waving his arms in the air while Spinarak jumped up and down energetically.

"So it looks like Kylie Scorch has her very first boy friend!?" Owen teased with an eye brow raised.

"Who said Lucien is my first?"

"Well is he?"

"Well… um… yes! But that's not the point!"

"The point is Kylie is an inexperienced child," Owen kidded sarcastically.

"Don't make me smack you all the way back to Pewter City!" I threatened intolerantly.

"Ohhhh kinky!" he giggled. I glared at him evilly. "So if Lucien isn't your first who is?" Owen asked pulling my leg. "Is it Parker!?" he gasped. I smacked him upside the head for that. "Ow! Well if not him was it that dude with the yacht?" I smacked him angrily once again. "OW! I guess Kylie likes her men rich… and older in that case!"

That time I stepped on his toe.

"OW!" he held his foot in pain. "All this denial you must really love him!"

"That's it!" I announced as the last straw. I swiftly pulled him towards me wrapping my arm around his head tightly, securing him in a painful head lock.

"Kylie, let me go!"

"Not after all those comments you little, no good-"

"Excuse me," a sudden voice interrupted us. I let go of Owen immediately coughing to hide the embarrassing incident. We turned to see a small, school girl. She had brownish red hair pulled back into two cute pig-tails. She wore a green, plaid skirt with a regular white blouse, and had freckles on her cheeks.

"Sorry to bother you, but would either of you like to battle?" she asked in a cute, high pitched voice.

"Sure," I smiled, pretending that nothing had happened.

"I'm Roary, who are you?" she asked curious.

"Kylie," I answered.

"Owen," Owen responded.

"We'll use three pokemon each. Is that ok?" she backed away.

"Yeah," I said enlarging Ponyta's pokeball. I tossed the pokeball up into the air and Ponyta popped out lifting her front hooves off the ground and neighing into the morning sun.

"Go Torchic!" she threw a pokeball with a small, orange, bird pokemon inside. It was so cute! I was pretty sure that is was one of the pokemon Professor Oak showed me.

"Ponyta use stomp!"

Ponyta galloped up to Torchic and slammed her front hooves down onto the small pokemon.

"Torchic use ember!" Roary called out to her pokemon. Torchic quickly bounced back by breathing bits of fire out of its beak. Ponyta got pelted with the hot embers but shook it off.

"Ponyta use tail whip!" I said to her. Ponyta swung her fiery tail around and whipped Torchic right across its chest. "Ember!" I shouted. Before Torchic could even catch its balance from the last attack, Ponyta shot sparks of fire out of her mouth and hit Torchic and made it tumble to the ground. Torchic lied on the ground wincing in pain, so Roary returned her pokemon to its pokeball and sent out a new pokemon.

"Gloom it's your turn!" the pokeball she threw contained an odd looking pokemon. It had a flower growing out of the top of its head and what looked like drool coming out of its mouth.

"I've never seen that pokemon before," I admitted as I pulled out my pokedex.

_Gloom releases a smelly gas when it feels it is in danger. Also, the ooze on its chin isn't drool, it is nectar to attract pokemon closer to it so it can attack them easier._

"Gloom use stun spore!" the little girl cried out. An orange dust floated out of Gloom's flower on the top if its head and showered over Ponyta. Ponyta began to struggle to keep its self up, then suddenly collapsed to the ground unable to move.

"Ponyta that's enough, return!" I returned Ponyta to her pokeball and sent out Houndour for a turn against the Gloom. _A fire type would do great against a grass type like Gloom_, I thought to myself.

"_Houndour_!" he howled as he appeared out of his pokeball.

"Quick Houndour use faint attack!" I ordered him.

Houndour began to charge at Gloom. Just as Gloom was about to dodge Houndour's attack. He disappeared for a moment then surprised Gloom by tackling right into it. Gloom went flying through the air and tumbled on the ground. It sat on the ground and tried to recover from its dizziness, but my Houndour was too quick for it. We surprised it once again by pelting it with an ember attack and sent it back to its pokeball.

"Go Nidorina!" the school girl threw a pokeball and out of the red light emerged a blue rat looking pokemon with spiky ears and claws on its paws.

"What pokemon is that?" I asked aloud as I pulled out Dexter once again.

_Nidorina is a poison type pokemon and is known as one of the pin needle family members. Since the female Nidorina's horns grow so slowly they prefer to use their teeth and claws in battle._

"Look out for their teeth and claws, Houndour!" I warned him as he appeared out of the pokeball ready to battle.

"Nidorina use fury swipes!" Roary told her Nidorina and even though I warned Houndour about her sharp claws, she slashed him so fast he had no time to dodge it.

"Houndour stay in this! Use smog!"

Out of Houndour's mouth came a thick, greenish gas that made it very hard to see. But with Houndour's great hearing he could sense where Gloom is, while Gloom would be defenseless.

"Houndour bite it!"

Out of the horrendous smoke Houndour laid his iron teeth on Gloom's squishy flesh. Gloom cried its name out in pain, and when the smog cleared I saw Houndour standing next to the injured Gloom. Houndour had triumphed and Gloom was sent back to its pokeball.

"Thanks for the battle," said the little girl as she walked up to us.

"No problem," I smiled as I returned Houndour back to his pokeball. She curtsied and skipped off into the tall grass.

We continued the rest of our day walking through woods, fields, streams, and trails. However, we didn't manage to make it to Celadon City that night.

"If you had to be a pokemon, what one would you be?" I asked Owen as we lied in our sleeping bags.

"I don't know, a fighting type I guess," he shrugged as he starred up at the stars.

"I think I'd be awesome to be a legendary, everyone knows your name, and if you were Moltres you controlled a whole island of fire type pokemon. I would want to be Moltres I think. I'd make all the pokemon happy by keeping away poachers and people like Team Rocket," I chatted.

"But don't you think there's some guy out there who has some high tech. equipment that could capture you?" Owen said, and I was surprised he was actually paying attention to my odd conversation.

"Are you saying if I were a pokemon I'd get captured?" I asked leaning up in my sleeping bag.

"I'd be pretty hard to get away from something like a giant net," he laughed.

"I'd burn that net and you to the ground," I argued.

"You don't have a bad bone in your body to be a fire type pokemon," he chuckled at his own joke.

"Humph," I grunted in anger as I turned away from him. We both fell asleep with the dim light of the camp fire reflecting on our faces.

Surprisingly, I woke up quite early the next morning. Owen was leaning against rock holding a pencil in his hands, writing in a notebook.

"What are you doing?" I yawned as I brushed my longish brown hair, as the journey went on Owen's and my hair was getting longer.

"Writing," he mumbled.

"About?" I asked curious.

"Just stuff we've done,"

"So like a diary?"

"If that's what you want to call it,"

I laughed.

"Go ahead and laugh but when become a famous pokemon trainer this book will be worth millions,"

"How long have you been writing in that thing?"

"Since we left,"

I nodded not knowing what to say.

After an hour of just relaxing in the breezy woods we picked our selves up and hit the road once again. We started our way through a giant patch of woods where we were going to journey through to get to the next gym. I hummed all sorts of different songs out of boredom.

"Will you be quiet!?" Owen said shockingly mad. Owen never really got mad, he would always just make wise cracks in a tense situation.

"Sorry, I can't stand it when it's this quiet,"

"Well, maybe if you were quiet more often you'd be used to silence,"

I was surprised about Owen's moodiness I've never seen him in a bad mood before. We didn't stop walking for a while. I let Charmander out of his pokeball to stretch his legs.

"How are you, Charmander?" I asked smiling at him.

"_Char- Charmander- Char_!" he said seeming very pleased. I picked some pears for him to eat and he stuffed them all in his face. We decided to stop for a couple of minutes and right away Owen went and sat under a tree with his Hitmonlee, Lickitung, and Poliwag out of their pokeballs.

"I guess the rest of the gang would like a break too, huh?" I said to Charmander. He just looked at me smiling with pear juice running down his chin.

"Come on out everyone!" I threw the rest of my pokeballs and right away I could see my pokemon were happy to be out in the summer sun that peaked through the leaves of the trees in the forest. Houndour, Growlithe, and Ponyta played tag. Charmander finished his pears then went over to join them. They were all so happy, which made me happy.

"Owen, why don't you let your pokemon play with mine?" I asked him as I walked over.

"They're perfectly fine talking to each other," he scowled.

"What is your problem today?" I asked angrily, with my hands on my hips.

"I've had enough of you and your non-stop talking!" he got up and yelled.

"FINE I WON"T TALK TO YOU EVER AGAIN!!! WILL THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY!?" I said screaming back at him. "C'mon everyone let's get going," I told my pokemon. They stopped playing and trailed behind my back. I heard the pop of two pokeballs, I guess Owen put Hitmonlee, Lickitung, and Poliwag back in their pokeballs. We walked for the rest of the day without talking to each other. I talked to my pokemon who still seemed to be happy even though I was mad at Owen.

"How are you Houndour?" I asked him as he walked by my feet, he simply smiled up at me and went back to playing tag with the others.

The darkness settled down and the sun disappeared on the horizon. Tonight the moon was full and the shone onto the world with a bright twinkle. I returned all my pokemon to their pokeballs and laid them on top of my sleeping bag. It was too hot to go inside it tonight. I couldn't fall asleep, I just thought about all sorts of things that kept me from sleeping. I looked at my watch that left a tan mark on my wrist, it said 12:34. I told myself to hurry up and fall asleep, but I just couldn't. I looked over at Owen whose blonde hair was all messy from moving around in his sleep. His backpack sat next to his head and I could see his notebook sticking out. One voice in my head said read it and you might find out what's bothering him, but the other voice said that would be wrong and invading his privacy.

I bit my bottom lip pondering about what I should do. I tried forgetting about it and attempted to close my eyes and fall asleep. But I felt like my body was possessed for a moment and made me take it out of his bag. I flipped to the most recent entry which was this morning. I tried to read quickly incase he woke up and saw me with his diary in my hands.

July 23rd,

I don't know what to do. My mind is so confused lately. I can't stop thinking about her. I'll never forget that-

I heard Owen turn over in his sleeping bag, so I quickly slipped the notebook back into his bag. I rolled over and tried to forget about it. Was he talking about Amber, when she kissed him? Is that what he'll never forget? After another 30 minutes I finally fell asleep.


	33. Hello, My Name Is Jackson

Chapter 33

The next day, when we sat down for a lunch break the sun was at its peak and the brisk wind whipped my hair in my face.

"I bet you it'll rain the day after tomorrow," Owen said.

"Ok, Mr. Weatherman," I laughed. He smiled up at me as he collected fire wood.

Sure enough, two days later, it rained. By then I had battled a few more trainers and had beaten all their sorry butts. One more day of walking through these buggy woods we would finally reach Celadon City.

As we stood under a tree in the pouring rain with our rain coats on our wet heads, we saw a teenage boy walking on the trail. We both raised our brows wondering why he was wandering out in the pouring rain with only a T-Shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He had black, messy hair and seaweed green eyes. He was quite attractive. I like the messy hair look.

"Hello?" I said as Owen and I walked up to him.

"Go away," he said angrily. I could just picture steam coming off the top of his head.

"What's wrong?" I asked walking along side of him.

"I SAID GO AWAY!" he said stopping in his tracks. He quickly pivoted and started speed walking the other way.

"Wait, maybe we can help," I offered. He turned towards me then slapped his hand across my face. It burnt as if he whacked me across the face with a torch. I was so infuriated that formed a fist with my hand and gave him a punch right in the eye. He fell back on his butt splattering mud every where.

"Ouch," I said shaking my hand, yet proud of myself for finally punching someone. I've always wanted to do that.

"Nice punch!" Owen complimented in amazement.

"Thanks," I said to Owen as I reached out my hand to help the poor guy up.

"What was that for!?" he screamed in my face.

"For slapping me across the face that's what!" I put my hands on my hips, standing my ground.

"At least you could've punch me in the nose and made me bleed," he said cockily.

"Hey man, just take it easy," Owen said putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"Get your girly hands off me!" he said shoving Owen back into me.

Owen, not about to back down shoved him back onto the ground, and made the boys butt stick in the mud. We turned around disgusted with the boy's attitude. Alls we tried to do was help him. I looked back and saw him trying to get up off the slippery ground, but he just fell right back down into the lake of mud. I tried to tell myself not to go back and help him after what he did to us, but my conscience over took my thoughts and made me turn around to see the helpless boy lying in the muck. I ran towards him putting my hand out for help, but he turned it down.

"I don't need your help," he said spitting mud out of his mouth. Once more trying to prop himself up out of the watery dirt.

"You're going to be stuck there all day if you don't take my hand," I said insisting he could use the help. He eventually got past his macho pride and let me help him up. When he stood tall and wiped the dirt off of him Owen walked over and pushed him back down.

"OWEN!" I said about to shove HIM into the mud.

"I enjoyed that," Owen smiled pleased with his work. I put out my hand once again and helped the boy up. The rain became lighter and some Pidgey stuck their little heads out of hollows trees where they stayed dry.

"My name is Kylie by the way," I said to him wiping some dirt off his shoulder.

"I'm Jackson, and it's no use I can just throw these in the wash when I get home," he said starring down at his clothes, almost totally covered in mud.

"Sorry about that," I laughed.

"It's my fault I shouldn't have been so…… stubborn," he said. "You see, my friends always make fun of me and I couldn't take it any more. So I wanted to run away," he said looking down at his feet.

"They don't seem like such good friends if they were making fun of you," I said as we headed for a tree to avoid the rain. But it was basically impossible to avoid at this point since the leaves would just drip on you.

"Aren't you a little old to do the 'I'm running away' thing?" Owen asked.

"Be quiet," I snapped at him.

"No, he's right," he sighed. "My friends always made fun of me because I never wanted to go out and train pokemon. It's not that I'm afraid of them or I don't like them, it's just it never interested me. I got so sick of everyone always talking about pokemon that I tried to finally just go catch one, one day. But it didn't like me, and was afraid of me. Then I tried going to an adoptive place where you could take a pokemon that was already trained and well behaved. When I went over to go visit them, they all ran away from me," he almost sounded like he was about to cry.

"So my buddies won't stop ragging on me, about how all pokemon are afraid of me," he continued.

"Jackson, I think we can help you out here, buddy," I said trying to cheer him up.

"Really, you will?" he asked excited.

"We will?" Owen said raising a brow. "Don't forget this kid slapped you in the face!" Owen tried to turn me against him.

"I forgive him," I said as I put my arm around his damp, muddy shoulder.

We walked for a long while when we finally reached Celadon City. Jackson took us straight to his house where his mother was making some hot chocolate. He introduced us to his mom then went straight up to his room to change. She had black hair just like her son's pulled back into a bun. Her warm smile brightened up the room and her red lip stick matched her trendy, red, ballerina shoes.

"How on earth did he get so muddy?" she asked placing cups of hot chocolate in front of me and Owen at their solid pine, kitchen table.

"He fell in the mud, and we helped him up," I said sipping the chocolaty drink. It was extremely hot and burnt my tongue!

"Yeah, after Kylie punched-" he started to say, but I kicked his shin from under the table to make him shut up.

Jackson came down in pants and an orange T-shirt and immediately chugged his hot chocolate down his throat. He sat down next to his mother and we chatted about pokemon and other stuff since Jackson refused to add in anything about pokemon.

"Well, you two are welcome to stay with us as long a you're in Celadon City,"

"Thanks," we thanked her at the same time.

She led us into their living room where there was a couch, a matching love seat, and a T.V. She pulled out a bed that popped out of the couch and said we could sleep on that. It was the first couch I ever saw do that.

"In the same bed?" Owen asked surprised that she would let a boy and a girl sleep in the same bed.

"I'm sorry that's all we have, you may sleep on the floor in Jackson's room," she offered to Owen.

"I'd rather take my chances with Hitmonchan over here,"

Owen was already in bed and he turned on the T.V. to a "Furret and Sentret" rerun. I awkwardly slipped under the sheets and faced away from Owen. After twenty minutes he turned off the T.V. and rolled onto his side. He tugged the sheet on top of his shoulders and left half my body bare.

"Do you mind?" I asked annoyed.

"Get another blanket," he responded.

"You have them all, you hog!"

"Here!" he threw a blanket on top of my head. "Now good night,"

We both fell asleep.


	34. Jackson's Pokemon Problem

Chapter 34

The next morning I woke up to the sound of cereal patter into a glass bowl. I walked into the kitchen and at the table where Owen and Jackson were helping themselves to some breakfast, and on the opposite side of them Jackson's mother sipped some coffee as she read the newspaper.

"Good morning," I greeted everyone as I rubbed my crusty eyes.

"Good morning, did you sleep alright?" Jackson's mother asked me still consumed in her article.

"Yeah," I said as I reached for a bowl, spoon, milk and cereal. After we all munched down our frosty wheats, we changed into our everyday clothes then set out to help Jackson with his pokemon problem. As we walked along the sidewalk that leaned up against all the houses in Celadon City, we spotted a Rattata scratching at a metal garbage can. I thought would be the perfect chance to test Jackson's communication skills.

"Try and go pet it," I whispered to him as I pushed him forward.

The purple rat looked up from its garbage picking and froze from this giant human coming towards him. Jackson slowly put out his hand to let the Ratatta sniff it, but it stood there petrified. It snapped out of the spell and squealed as it ran off into the streets.

"Any street pokemon will be afraid of humans," I said as I watched the rat scurry off into the distance. "Try petting one of my pokemon," I said as I unleashed Charmander from his pokeball. He looked happy to see me and Owen but when he looked over at Jackson, he squeezed my leg in fear.

"This will never work," Jackson said annoyed.

"Charmander what's wrong, why don't you like Jackson?" I knelt over and asked him. He just shook his head in terror.

"We tried," Jackson said starting his way towards home.

"We can't give up now," I said looking at my watch. "What do you suggest we try?" I asked looking at Owen.

He pointed to himself as if I were talking to someone behind him.

"Yes, you," I said as I itched my elbow.

"I have no idea, we have a hopeless case," he said shaking his head.

"You're the hopeless case," I chuckled.

"I guess we can try going to that day care center place you talked about yesterday," Owen suggested.

We walked just down the street to a large brick building that had a recently painted sign that sad, "Day Care Center" on it. The front door and window trims were painted the same yellow to match. We walked inside the sticky room that smelt like wet Poochyena. Fans blew the humid air as some Starly napped in a gigantic aviary. An old man stood behind a bright yellow counter with a cash register on it.

"Can I help you young fellers?" he muffled through his mustache. He was bald, very tall, and scrawny. He wore a yellowish tan shirt that tucked into his brown, worn, pants. Red suspenders crossed his back and he smiled showing his surprisingly straight, white teeth.

"Yes, I'm looking for a pokemon," Jackson informed him.

"You're welcome to take one of these Starly," he offered Jackson. Jackson walked over to the giant bird cage and peeked in at the peaceful Starly. They slumbered up against each other with their feathers ruffled.

"Hi little guys," Jackson talked in baby voice. They all opened their drowsy eyes and gave a big yawn. When they caught sight of Jackson, they all panicked and flew to the back of the cage. Some pressed themselves up against the back aviary.

"Let's face it, pokemon hate me," he said turning around with his head down.

"We can't give up yet, there must be some reason why pokemon are afraid of you." I said tapping my finger on my chin.

"Your stance is all wrong," the old man said as he came out from behind the counter. "You look like your about to eat them, not become their friend," he said positioning Jackson how he think he should be standing. "Stand more relaxed and friendly," he said taking a step back and looking at Jackson like it's a piece of art work.

"Alright let's go test your new stance," I said enthusiastically.

We ventured out to the tall grass along side of the town searching the dry weeds for a pokemon companion for Jackson. We heard the grass shake over near a tree. I quietly tried to step closer to the noise but by accidentally stepped on an acorn and it made a loud crack that awakened all the sleeping pokemon. I froze as I spotted a Sandshrew digging in the dry Celadon City dirt. Jackson and Owen turned and faced him and I put my pointer finger up to my lips as I took a light step forward. I was only about three feet away from it when I whispered to Jackson, "Come here." He tip toed closer towards the ground type pokemon. The Sandshrew heard the grass scratching his jeans and looked up from his digging. Jackson slowly put his hand out for the pokemon to sniff, but it squealed and ran away into the forest. Jackson fell to his knees and pounded the ground with his fists in frustration.

The wind picked up and started to blow the leaves off the trees. Pokemon took cover and huddled in their shelters. I looked up at the sky and saw it go from beautiful blue to stormy grey. We jogged home as thunder boomed in the city. Rain poured down from the giant, black clouds and a small toddler danced in the rain. Her mother ran out from their house and dragged her inside. We reached Jackson's small home soaked and his mom walked over to us with towels.

"Thank you," we said.

We all sat around on the couch watching the weather and eating ice cream. I haven't had this stuff in ages, and it was my favorite, cookie dough. Jackson's mother sat on a kitchen chair that she pulled over next to the couch and sorted laundry.

"Something smells good," I sniffed.

"It must be the laundry, we have a family secret that makes all clothes smell wonderful," she said as she folded a blue shirt and stacked it up on some other shirts.

"What is it?" Owen asked as he spooned a giant mouthful of ice cream into his mouth.

"Owen, it's a secret," I said.

"No I've always wanted to tell someone," she looked around as if she were checking for spies. "It's super repel," she smiled.

My eyes widened as I finally figured out why pokemon hate Jackson. I looked over at Owen he was looking at me we smiled both knowing that pokemon were afraid of him because he has super repel on all his clothes.

"Jackson, that's it!" I said so excited I jumped on top of the couch cushion.

"Pokemon don't like you because you have pokemon repellant on your clothes!" Owen said also excited as he stood up.

"Mom, you have to stop using repel on my clothes that's the reason pokemon don't like me all these years!" Jackson said to his mother.

"Are you sure?" she asked raising an eye brow.

"YES!" all three of us exclaimed at the same time.

"Alright," she shrugged.

Jackson and his mother headed up stairs for bed as me and Owen took turns changing into our pajamas in their bathroom. I came into the living room and Owen was sleeping on the floor with a pillow.

"What are you-" I started to say, but I noticed his eyes were closed so I stopped myself from waking him up. I climbed into bed and right away fell asleep.


	35. The PokePurfume Predicament

Chapter 35

Owen and I stepped outside into the morning, fresh air and I stood proud, and tall as I felt the air of victory pass by me.

"Smell that?" I asked him as wafted the air into my nostrils

"I don't smell anything," he said dumbly.

"Ugh!" I moaned as I fell to the ground. "You know I do this every time I'm going to challenge the gym leader!" I exclaimed quickly getting back up.

"I know, I know, 'It's the smell of victory' yatta yatta yatta," he mocked rolling his eyes.

"That's right! And it smells stronger then ever!" I teased sticking my tongue out at him.

"Alright let's get your defeat over with," he started to walk towards the Celadon City Gym.

"Hold on a minute!" I stopped him, grabbing his back pack strap, pulling him back. "What do you mean 'defeat'?"

"Oh, c'mon, you know you haven't trained at all since the last gym,"

"We don't need to train we're that good!" I beamed proudly.

I skipped to gym with plenty of confidence. Suddenly, a strange aroma floated up into my nose making it twitch in irritation. I itched it trying to rub the hideous smell out of it, but it was so strong the smell haunted me. I stopped in my tracks waving my hands around furiously, trying to swat the stench away.

"What is that horrible smell!?" I asked Owen covering my nose with my hands, causing me to sound like I had a cold.

"I don't know what you're talking about, because something smells really good," he sniffed the air closing his eyes. I raised my eye brow at his odd behavior around the obviously bad smell. I looked to my side seeing a store that was painted a dark, natural, green. On the bay window, in pretty script writing said "Perfume Shop".

"It must be this stores perfume that smells so bad," I coughed. "Owen!?" I looked around for the missing boy, then saw him in the store lusting over all the pretty girls that worked inside.

"Hi what's your name!?" Owen asked a girl with green pigtails that stood behind the counter.

"I'm sorry but you're a little young," the girl chuckled.

"Oh," Owen frowned. "How about you!?" he turned around and asked another girl with a brown ponytail and long eye lashes.

"Owen, I think that disgusting perfume has gone to your head," I laughed thinking I had made a funny joke. But boy was I off. All the employees in the store gasped and gave me angry looks that made me shake in fear.

"Who on earth called my wonderful perfume 'disgusting'!?" a sudden voice screamed. A woman with blue hair pulled up into an exotic bun and blue Japanese dress walked out from the back storage room and had an enraged look on her face.

"It's the store manager!" a girl cried.

"Was it you little girl!?" she pointed at my nose.

"First off I'm not little! Second off what I said is true! Perfume is a waste of money and is totally pointless!" I argued.

"I resent that remark young lady!" the woman stated.

"Why waste your time doing something like making perfume! What a stupid career!" I made fun of. Seriously, who wants to grow up and make perfume for the rest of their lives.

"Kylie, shut up!" Owen murmured frustratingly.

"I have freedom of speech!" I protested.

"And we have freedom of kicking you out!" the girl with green pigtails fired back.

"Insult our perfume one more time and we'll have to ask you to leave!" the store manager threatened.

"S-M-E-L-L-Y!" I spelt out rudely. "SMELLY!" I exclaimed in their faces.

"Get out and don't bother coming back!" the girl with the brown ponytail shouted as all the employees threw me out onto the streets.

"I won't!" I told them angrily. "I don't know why they're so protective over some crap like that, it's just perfume for crying out loud! Besides I'm on my way to the Celadon City Gym!" I said aloud to myself.

I arrived at a giant, domed building with a roof that looked like a Gloom's flower that sat on top of its head. I knocked loudly on the sliding glass doors, taking some of my anger out from those stupid perfume store employees.

"May I help you?" a girl answered my call, sounding annoyed. She had a blue ponytail and wore a safari like outfit that was all khaki material.

"Yes, I'd like to battle the gym leader here," I smiled trying to sound cheerful.

"No can do," the girl folded her arms stubbornly.

"What!? Why!?" I whined.

"We don't allow any lousy trainers in that insult our legendary perfume!" she informed me infuriated.

"Is it legendary for smelling terrible and costing way too much!" I by accidentally blurted out.

"Watch your mouth little girl! This gym is the main manufacturer of that perfume you call smelly!"

"Well, I didn't know that…" I mumbled shaking in fear.

"So in reality I guess you're the smelly one!" she yelled while pasting a frowny sticker on my forehead then let the sliding glass door slam in between us.

"Please let me in!" I bounced back on my feet and pounded on the door, realizing I needed this badge.

"Never!" the girl cried as she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Nooooo! Come back! Please! I take it all back!" I begged and pleaded. But it was too late the girls had already disappeared back inside of the gym.

I sulked sadly on the sidewalk, hanging my head in my own shame. _I just had to open my big mouth_, I thought to myself. Suddenly, I heard some racket coming from behind one of the many buildings in Celadon City. I peeked my head around the corner to see a biker gang. They all wore leather and sat on large, shinny silver, motorcycles. The leader of the group was a giant, he had hands the size of my head and wore a leather vest with no shirt underneath, revealing the unpleasant site of his pierced nipples. His sidekick was small and scrawny. A leather jacket wrapped around his skinny frame and stretched out, leather boots sagged on his thin legs.

"Alright, I know this stuff is sissy, but it is the only way we can make some easy dough, okay boys!" the lead motorist talked to his gang.

"We just break in the gym, grab the perfume formula, and split!" the bony assistant explained in simpler terms.

"They're ganna break in the gym and steal their perfume!" I whispered to myself.

"What was that?" the bulky leader suspected I said something, but I quickly pulled myself behind the wall out of his sight. I pressed myself up against the cold, brick wall as my heart beat like a drum. Nervous sweat dripped down my forehead as I panicked whether they had seen me or not.

"I guess it was nothing," the boss decided. I sighed in relief.

"Now," the leader snickered. "Let's ride!" he laughed devilishly and placed his helmet on the top of his bald head.

I sprinted towards the gym trying to keep my breathing on a steady beat. My legs felt like they were going to collapse but I had no time to take a break. Although I was kicked out of the perfume shop and the gym, this might be my chance to make it up to them.

"Hello! Anyone there!? Hello!" I banged on the glass door of the domed shaped gym once again. The girl with the blue ponytail answered the door and multiple girls from the perfume shop loyally stood behind her.

"I thought we told you to never come back!" the girl shouted getting frustrated.

"Please! Just listen to me! There's a group of bikers heading this way to come and steal your 'precious' perfume formula!" I tried to convince them, but by the look on their faces they didn't believe me. "You've got to believe me!" I begged.

"How can we trust such a immature, childish, no good, snob like you!" she pointed aggravatingly at me, taking a step towards me each time she insulted me with another adjective, causing me to slowly back myself out of the gym.

"They're on their way! They'll out number and out size you all! They're ganna destroy the gym!" I ranted, pressing my face up against the glass. I turned around and started to run down the steps quickly as possible, thinking maybe I could stop them myself with a pokemon battle. Along the way I ran into them. They drove towards me and I shouted to them trying to stop them and make them fight me in a pokemon battle, but the roar of their motorcycle motors made it impossible to hear my yelling. They zipped by me making dust fly up into my eyes, nose, and mouth, and the force of them whipping by pulled my ponytail holder right out of my hair. I hacked the dust out of my lungs and rubbed my irritated eyes. Once again I sprinted towards the gym as fast as I could, hoping I could save the formula in time.

"This won't do!" I stopped in my tracks and then tossed out Ponyta's pokeballs. Quickly climbing onto her back, she galloped rapidly after the biker gang.

We reached the gym and found their passenger less bikes parker outside. Ponyta and I ran inside searching for the formula thieves. We spotted them towering over the perfume shop girls, the leader holding the bottle of formula in his hands.

"This should catch a high price," he snickered while starring delightfully at the yellow liquid.

"Give that back you rotten crook!" the girl with a brown ponytail ordered. The thin sidekick threw a round, black ball to the ground, and smoke burst from its sides filling the air with smoke.

"Let's snatch that Gloom while we have the chance!" the leader of the gang fled away with the gym's valuable Gloom, which is the main producer of the perfume they make.

"Oh no Gloom!" the store manager cried.

"Ponyta use ember!" I told her. Just then she spat out bursts of fire at the bike gang but it just made them run faster.

"After them!" the girl with green pigtails exclaimed as she pointed after them.

"Stop right there!" the store manager shouted to the biker gang that were about to escape on their motorcycles outside of the gym.

"Ponyta burn holes in their tires so they can't escape!" I instructed and she did so. The rubber melted, spilling onto the ground and created a stinky, rubber smell.

"Curses! Foiled again!" the biker gang said in unison.

"Erika, he still has your Gloom!" one of the girls informed her worriedly, talking to the store manager.

"And we ain't giving it back, neither!" the sidekick waved his finger back and forth.

"Tiny, shut up!" the boss smacked the small man upside the head.

"Yes, Jay," Tiny obeyed obediently, while rubbing his sore head.

"Jay!?" we all chuckled.

"Give us the Gloom," I ordered sternly and intolerantly.

"Psh, like I will listen to a little girl like you," Jay laughed.

"How about if we have a pokemon battle, who ever wins gets the Gloom," I challenged, stepping forward.

"Don't forget my gym's perfume formula!" Erika exclaimed.

"And if I win, you have to let us go free," Jay compromised.

"Fine, deal," I agreed.

"What!? Kylie are you insane!? What if you loose, they'll get away with everything!" Owen said frantically.

"I got this under control," I waved to him assuring him the win.

"Two pokemon each," Jay told me with out negotiating, but that was fine with me. "I choose you, Electabuzz!" the biker man threw out a pokeball and a yellow pokemon with black stripes on its body like a tiger, emerged from the red light.

"_Electabuzz_!" the pokemon shouted into the afternoon sky.

"What kind of pokemon is that?" I questioned as I pulled out my pokedex from my messenger bag pocket.

_Electabuzz is a pokemon that causes blackouts when it eats electricity from power plants near by. Like all other electric type pokemon, Electabuzz absorbs electricity and stores it to power up its own electric type moves._

"Your supply will run a little short since I don't own any electric pokemon," I murmured confidently to myself.

Over hearing what I said the biker snickered, "That won't change the fact that I'll beat you,"

"Ponyta you can take this one," I nodded to her and she stepped forward, planted her hooves in the side walk, and neighed loudly.

"Electabuzz use thunder shock!" Jay shouted.

"Start things off quick with agility, Ponyta!" I told her then she darted off, running around Electabuzz in circles, causing him to become dizzy and confused.

"While he's weak use take down!" I shouted to her. Ponyta then rammed into the side of the electric type pokemon, bruising his ribs.

"C'mon Electabuzz! Use a thunder bolt!" Jay yelled in frustration.

"Dodge and use flame wheel!" I commanded. Ponyta easily moved out of the way of the lightening bolt that shocked the ground where she once stood. She then dashed towards Electabuzz engulfing her body in flames, throwing herself up against the Electabuzz at full force, the Electabuzz fell to the ground unconscious.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle, Ponyta wins!" one of the smaller members of the biker gang announced.

"I don't need you tell to me whether I've won or not!" Jay shouted at him in aggravation and threw a rock at the man which hit him directly on the top of his head.

"Ow!" the young man shrieked and rubbed the bump that had formed on his head.

"Tododile show them no mercy!" Jay tossed a pokeball that contained a blue crocodile like pokemon in it. The pokemon bounced around energetically singing its name with a raspy voice.

"Even though Tododile is playful and energetic, it can be really strong," Owen warned me.

"Right," I nodded.

"Tododile use water gun!" Jay commanded loudly shaking the earth. Tododile took in a large gulp of breath then pounded Ponyta with an enormous amount of water, causing her to topple over and faint.

"One hit K.O.!" Jay exclaimed happily and proud.

"_Todo_!" Tododile squealed in excitement.

"Ponyta return!" I aimed the pokeball at her and said to her quietly, "You did great, take a nice, long rest,"

I looked back up at Jay and his gang, wondering what pokemon I should use against his powerful Tododile. All my fire type have a huge disadvantage, especially with that powerful water gun it has. I couldn't make up my mind and everyone starred at me impatiently, waiting for my decision.

"Charmander I choose you!" I exclaimed like Ash Ketchum.

"_Char-Charmander_!" he proclaimed prepared for battle.

"Another fire type, huh? Do you really expect to win with a fire type against my water type?" Jay chuckled evilly. I gritted my teeth in anger.

"Begin!" the small, biker dude shouted.

"I told you to stop that!" Jay glared at him.

"Sorry Jay," the man apologized then sulked back over next to the rest of the gang.

"Tododile water gun!" Jay ordered, Tododile then inhaled deeply then unleashed a powerful shot over water towards Charmander.

"Dodge then use flamethrower!" I told Charmander, and he did so. Leaping out of the way of the water gun then blasting a stream of fire towards the crocodile.

"A fire type move won't do much," Jay muttered. "Use slash!"

Tododile slide out of the way of the flamethrower with ease then launched towards Charmander with his claws extended.

"Just what I was hoping for," I smirked.

"Huh!?" Jay gasped clueless of my plan.

"Charmander bounce off Tododile's back, leaping up into the air!" I told him.

"What!?" Jay huffed in shock.

As Tododile flew by Charmander kicked Tododile down to the ground by bouncing off Tododile's back and letting himself become air born. Tododile crashed to the ground and got up weakly.

"Now use flamethrower!" I said quickly. As Charmander remained in the air, he shot another flamethrower at Tododile, and Tododile being to weak to dodge got hit by the painful burn.

"Todo!" the crocodile screeched in pain as the flames surrounded his body.

"Now tackle him Charmander!" I yelled.

Charmander darted towards Tododile who lied on the ground feebly. Charmander bashed his skull into the water type pokemon causing it to release an ear-splitting screech of agony.

"You better get Tododile out of this quick!" Tiny said to Jay worriedly.

"I know what I'm doing you whinny bastard!" Jay cursed furiously. "Tododile use slash!" he called out, but Tododile was trapped under Charmander.

I then called out, "Charmander use scratch!"

Charmander extended his long, silver claws and swiped them across Tododile's back.

"Tail whip!" I screamed in glory. Charmander then jumped a couple feet in the air and swung his fiery tail around and smacked it into Tododile's back. Tododile laid their motionless and the biker man once again declared, "Tododile is unable to battle, Charmander is the victor!" Jay stomped over to the man and starred him down angrily.

"I know, I know, I'll stop!" the man shook in fear of the bulky biker that towered over him.

"I believe we had a deal," I walked over with my hand out.

"This Gloom is worthless anyway, take it," Jay gave in.

"And my perfume!" Erika rushed over and included.

"You want your smelly perfume!?" Jay snickered evilly, then to our surprise slammed the glass bottle to the ground releasing a disgusting smell that burned the inside of our noses. The roar of their engines scared us as they drove away freely.

"Great, they got away!" I threw my arms up in the air.

"What is that!?" Owen asked covering his nose, talking about the disgusting smell.

"That is our main ingredient to our perfume, essence of gloom!" Erika sung like it was a beautiful smell.

After the spill was cleaned up Erika insisted that I should take her rainbow badge.

"But I didn't beat you," I reminded her.

"But you did get my prized Gloom back, and from the looks of your battling skills you would've beaten me anyway," she smiled and placed an octagonal shaped badge on the palm of my hand. It was the prettiest badge yet with all of its different colors.

"Thank you, thanks so much!" I said with gratitude. "Yes, I got the Rainbow Badge!" I held it up in the air and posed with Charmander on my shoulder.

"You earned it," Erika said cheerfully as the perfume shop employees clapped.

"Thanks again," I beamed happily.

"Good-bye!" Erika and the other girls waved as we began to walk away.

"Bye!" we called back and waved.

"Good luck on your journey!" Erika called.

Finally, my fifth badge! I may have won this without even an official pokemon battle, but next time I know it won't be so easy. As each gym leader gets tougher and tougher, we grow stronger and stronger, taking each step of the way in high spirit.

A/N: I realize the beginning of this chapter was a lot like the anime but I thought it was just like Kylie to be bratty and insult something an average girl might like. I know not everyone likes perfume, I defiantly don't go ga-ga over it, so Kylie represents all those manly girls out there, lol. I hope you enjoyed it! And I you're enjoying their journey so far! Please review!


	36. A PSJ Halloween

Chapter 36

**A/N: Welcome to a PSJ special Halloween chapter! I know it is a little late but nothing like a nice scare to liven your spirits! Kylie and Owen stumble across an old, abandoned mansion, what will they find inside? No one knows! Enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think:D**

The darkness of the night lurked in the skies as the fog shook in the chilly air. The dampness indicated it was late in the night, but it only made chills run down my spine.

"It is so cold out!" I stuttered as my teeth clattered and I rubbed my arms that were covered in goose bumps.

"It looks like you got us lost," Owen stated bluntly.

"Me? How is it my fault that we're out here in the middle of no where!?" I asked angrily.

"I was just following you," he shrugged.

"Don't give me that. I'm a follower, not a leader crap!" I snapped at him. "Where the heck are we!?" I looked around in irritation.

Suddenly, a black bird with a pilgrim like hat on flew by and then perched itself on a branch of a tree near by.

"_Murkrow_!" it squawked.

"That is such a cool pokemon! I want to capture it!" I ran towards it, planting my feet in the ground, ready to battle it, but it flew off.

"Come back!" I called after it.

"I had never seen a pokemon like that before," Owen watched it as it disappeared in the dark forest.

_It is believed that seeing Murkrow at night will bring about ominous occurrences._

"That doesn't sound good," I gulped imaging what tragedy could lie ahead of us.

"Look, there's a mansion. We can ask them where we are," Owen brain stormed.

"Great idea, and maybe they can give us some food, and a phone to use," I added in.

We walked up to the old, murky mansion. It was a very large building that probably had four floors. The grey, rotten, shingles on the roof and on the side of the house were falling off and so were the shutters. A gloomy fog floated in the air and strange, ghost like sounds moaned from inside the house.

"I don't know about this…" I took a step away form the house uncertainly.

"I'm sure some old farts that can't take care of their house live here, there's nothing to be afraid of," Owen assured me.

"When ever some one says "there's nothing to be afraid of" in the movies, something bad or scary always happens," I murmured nervously.

Owen softly knocked on the giant door that greeted us at the steps. The black railings were covered in vines and in each crack and crease of the old mansion a cob web sat.

"Okay, so no one's home! Oh well! We tried!" I stared to walk away terrified but hide it with a shaking smile.

"Not so fast," Owen grabbed my backpack strap and pulled me back. "The door is open, let's just see if we can find anyone inside. They're probably just sleeping at this hour," Owen said calmly.

"Ummm… you go ahead! I'll stay out here! I mean it is such a cool and peaceful night! Maybe I'll just go for a walk! Farrrrr away from here!" I turned to leave once again, but Owen caught me by my messenger bag strap and dragged me inside the mansion along side with him. The door shut behind us making the room pitched black.

"Send out one of your fire pokemon to help us see," Owen told me.

"Right," I opened up Charmander's pokeball letting him out and his glowing tail lit up the creepy room.

"It looks abandoned," I observed and started to calm down a bit.

"Hmmm…" Owen pondered as he walked around and looked at all the old antics. The room was a small greeting room. With a sofa set and many doors leading to I'm sure other scary rooms. The furniture was in horrible condition, all the wood that lined the fabric was broken and a few of the legs had given out. The depressing, deep purple wall paper was peeling with the hideous floral designed ceiling. The lighting fixture was old and bent, so old that candles were the producer of light on the chandelier, not light bulbs.

To our surprise, a ghost pokemon suddenly appeared in front of us, scaring us all.

"_Misdreavus_!" it laughed at as we screamed and pressed ourselves up against the other side of the room in fear.

"Is that a pokemon?" I screamed not meaning to.

_Misdreavus loves to sneak up on people late at night, then startle them with its shreik like cry._

"MISDREAVUS!" he screeched loudly and shook the entire house.

"AHHHHH!!!" we screamed in fear.

"Misdreavus!" It laughed once more.

"That isn't funny at all!" I shouted at the pokemon while still trying to catch my breath.

"Let's check some of the rooms out," Owen suggested like nothing major scary just happened.

"ARE YOU NUTS!" I screamed thunderous.

"Shhhhh!" Owen hushed me while putting his pointer finger up to his lips.

"Fine, let's stick together," I gave in. We began to back up towards one of the many doors that lead out of the greeting room. We tip-toed quietly, step by step, then scaring as all and making us jump into the air, we bumped into something behind us.

"AHHHHHH!!!" everyone screamed.

We turned to see it was Zane Oak who had bumped into us, we all cried, "ZANE!" and pointed.

"So it's Kylie and Owen," he sneered.

"What are you doing here!?" I said trying to whisper.

"I heard that a rare pokemon was seen in this abandoned dump, so I came to check it out," he explained as he looked around.

"So it is abandoned," Owen confirmed.

"Well, you scared the crap out of us!" I shoved him gently.

"I have no time to listen to your pathetic panic attacks. I'm busy becoming a pokemon master, unlike your pitiful self," he snickered sinisterly. I gritted my teeth in anger and frustration while Owen held me back from punching him in the face.

"How many badges do you have 'Mr. Pokemon Master'!?!" I released from Owen's grip but contained my anger.

"How many do you have? Hmmm?" he directed the question on me.

"I have 5, but I asked you first!"

"A true pokemon trainer never reveals how many badges they've gotten or how many pokemon they've caught. I guess you're just too stupid to know that," he shrugged.

"Alright, that is it! Pokemon battle right now!" I challenged as we spread out in a hallway that we had tracked into.

"I guess I can fit another win in my schedule," he expanded one of his pokeballs that hung on his belt and tossed it out between us. The white and red light that burst from the pokeball lit up the dark room for a second then disappeared as it formed into a magnet shaped pokemon.

"Magnemite," it recited sounding like a robot.

_The units at Magnetmite's sides generate electromagnetic waves that keep it air born. Magnemite feeds on electricity._

"Interesting, but your strange, new pokemon won't distract us from winning!" I exclaimed confidently. "Growlithe go!" I threw out Growlithe's pokeball who popped out with a yawn.

"Alright Growlithe wake up and use ember!" I told him, but suddenly a mysterious and loud groan echoed through out the house. But it came clearly from upstairs, we quickly dashed upstairs to see what was making the strange noise.

"It's coming from this room I think," Zane said putting his ear up to the wooden door.

"Open it on three, one… two… three!" I counted down then with all of our weight we rammed into the door. As it swung open Zubat flew over head and screeched frantically.

"AHHHH!!! Get them off! Get them off!" I screamed swatting my arms around as one of the Zubat fluttered around my head not knowing to follow the others. Charmander scared it away by using ember on it.

"Thanks Charmander," I sighed in relief.

"Look at this," Zane pointed to a painting that leaned up against an old, dust covered table in the room filled with junk and antics. The painting was also covered in dust but through the cob webs you could see two young adults holding hands.

"Owen, that kid looks like you!" I gasped at the young male who looked exactly like Owen, with longish blonde hair and the same facial features. The boy in the painting had a bit of a goatee but that was the only different thing.

"Well, that girl looks just like you, Kylie," Owen pointed out in shock. We starred closely at the painting. The girl had the same brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and the same green eyes that I had.

Owen and I exchanged glances with each other, then looked at the painting once more in amazement. Suddenly, breaking all of our awe, there was a loud crash that made us all jump in fright.

"What was that!?" I asked breathing heavily.

"Sounded like it came from upstairs," Zane acknowledged.

"_Growl! Growl! Growl_!" Growlithe snarled at the ceiling where the loud crash had come from.

"What is it Growlithe?" I asked the fire type pokemon but then he took off out of the room barking ferociously. "Growlithe come back!" I called after him but realized he wasn't coming back, so we followed him up the stairs. In the middle of the hallway I unexpectedly hit some invisible wall, almost breaking my nose.

"OWWWW!" I clutched my nose and held back my tears. A few drops of blood ran down across my lips making me taste the saltiness of my own blood.

"Are you okay?" Owen softly placed his hand on my back comfortingly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I blushed. Alarming us all, a sudden piercing screech shook the mansion causing us all to jump.

"That's it! I'm outta here!" I marched off to the front door.

We reached the rusty and worn front door that towered over us. I yanked on the handles that were loosely fascine on the door with rusty screws, but the heavy, wooden door didn't budge.

Owen grew impatient as the effort to open the door become harder, "Are you planning on opening the door? Or are we just ganna hang out here?"

"I'm trying but it's stuck!" I grunted as I tugged on the handles of the stubborn door. I swung my foot up and placed on the frame of the door as I pulled with all my weight but it wasn't working.

"I think someone doesn't want us to leave," I quivered.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from the top floor of the mansion, without meaning to I hugged onto Owen's arm from the terrifying scream.

"Sorry," I flushed as I dropped his arm embarrassingly.

"No problem," he smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"HELP!" we heard the voice scream again.

"Zane!" we exclaimed at the same time. We sprinted up the stairs to the top floor and scanned the hallway cautiously.

"Hey Zane are you okay? If there are any monsters attacking you, warn us now," I said to the missing boy while Owen just rolled his eyes and pushed me forward. We heard him shout once more and found him in an empty room and in the corner Growlithe trapped him and was growling ferociously.

"Get your rabies dog away from me," Zane stuttered in fear.

"Out of all things to be scared of so far, that we've seen in this house, you're afraid of my dog?" I chuckled.

"Magnemite use thunder shock!" Zane commanded.

"There will be no shocking anything, of any sort!" I restrained the boy away from my fierce puppy pokemon.

"Recall all of your pokemon, we don't need to deal with a pokemon battle right now," Owen told us calmly.

"I guess you're right," I admitted and recalled Growlithe to his pokeball, leaving Charmander out to provide some light.

"Find," Zane pouted tenaciously as he returned his Magnemite to its pokeball.

"How can we get out of this rat infested dump?" Zane asked us while looking around at the poor condition of the mansion.

"I have an idea!" I exclaimed happily. "We burn a hole through one of the walls! That way we can escape!"

"Let's try it out," Owen shrugged.

The three of us stood in front of one of the blank walls that supported the house next to the front door.

"Charmander, use flamethrower to burn a hole through the wall," I told him. Charmander took in a large inhale of air, then unleashed a giant ball of fire. As it darted towards the wall, suddenly it was deflected and bounced to the hard wood floor.

"What was that!?" I gasped.

Owen walked up to the hidden force field and tapped on the invisible piece of glass the fire ball had bounced off of, then declared, "This is like the same invisible glass you bumped into earlier, Kylie,"

"Someone really doesn't want us to leave," I muttered.

"Guys look at this," Zane stammered as he pointed to the floor. In giant, fiery letters, the fire ball had bounced off the invisible glass and spelt out, "Welcome to Hotel Hell, check in time is now, check out time is NEVER!"

"AHHHHH!!!!" we screamed in dread.

"Get us out of here!" I pounded on the door repeatedly until my knuckles blistered.

"What do you want us to do?!" Owen pleaded looking up towards the ceiling.

The letters shifted again, "You must serve me for the rest of your young lives!"

"No way, I refuse to do that!" I folded my arms, then regretted saying that.

"Then you shall die!" the letters formed and began to burn the floor to a crisp black. "I will let you go if you can do one thing…"

"What?" Owen asked.

The fiery letters altered and moved to form a new sentence, "DEFEAT ME!"

"WHAT!?!" we gasped.

Suddenly, all sorts of ghost pokemon flew into the room shrieking and crying and laughing devilishly. They haunted us by flying rapidly back and forth over our heads. I could seek out Gastly, Haunter, and one Gengar, but the rest of the ghosts I couldn't identify. I pulled out my pokedex and tried to aim it at them so we could recognize what pokemon they were, but they were moving too swiftly for the pokedex.

"They're moving too fast I can't tell what they are!" I cried.

Finally, my pokedex had landed on a giant dust like pokemon that was pink with green orbs floating within it.

_Spiritomb was formed by 108 spirits. It is bound to a fissure in an odd keystone._

"What does that mean?" I asked hysterically.

"I guess that tomb thing that it's attached to has a key," Owen put to simpiliar terms.

_When the key to the Spiritomb's small tomb is found, all 108 spirits separate and from then on, can rest in peace._

"Do you think the key is in this mansion?" I asked aloud.

"I'm not sure, it could be anywhere," Owen assumed.

"If you all wish to go free you must defeat me and my colony of spirits!" the Spiritomb's voice shook the house thunderous.

"Is there anything else we can do?" I asked bluntly.

"PIPE DOWN!" the ghost pokemon snapped.

"Sorry," Owen and I looked at each other and giggled about the spirit's anger.

"Love?" the Spiritomb cocked its head and asked clueless. Owen looked over and smiled then we both looked away embarrassingly. The strange vibe of the mansion was making Owen and I get along really well. My heart floated each time he looked over at me and smiled.

"Love has been banned from this house!" it boomed.

My mind had flashed back to when we had found the painting of the couple holding hands, I wasn't sure why, but I was positive that painting was the answer! I dashed up the stairs to find it as quickly as possible, Owen and Zane followed behind.

"What are you doing, you can't escape," Zane snarled.

"I'm not trying to," I told him as I propped the painting up on the table then dusted it off with my hands. "I have a feeling this painting is the answer,"

Zane and Owen raised their brows at me.

"You know how the pokedex said once the key to the tomb is found, all the spirits are laid to rest?" I reminded them. "Well, if we can get them to go away and stop them from keeping us in here, we can get out!" I explained to them.

"It's worth a shot," Owen sighed.

We rushed downstairs with the large painting at my side. I stepped forward in front of the floating Spiritomb. It raised its eye brow at me looking curiously at the painting I presented to it.

"What is this? And why do you bring it to me?" Spiritomb asked annoyed.

"You said love is banned from this house, well let me remind you how important love is!" I exclaimed and chucked the painting towards the Spiritomb, vast winds began to swirl around the room almost creating a small tornado that drew us towards the sudden black hole that appeared. The Spiritomb was sadly sucked inside and the strong winds stopped blowing.

Out from under our feet, millions of spirits floated up with happy expressions on their faces, happy to be at rest at last. The three of us raced outside, thankful the door had opened. We watched the beautiful sight of ghost pokemon floating up into the starry night as the full moon shinned brightly down on the mansion. The spirits kept drifting up like helium balloons and made twinkles in the dark night. I smiled at ease, knowing that we were safe, for now, and the spirits of the night could guide our way back to where we were heading, the path to our futures and our destinies. And I knew from then on, all you really do need is love.


	37. Journey Across Cycling Road

Chapter 37

Owen and I gasped at the wondrous sight of the gorgeous bridge that towered above our head. Built over the glistening ocean in the morning sun and just livened our spirits, even though it is just a bridge.

We walked forward, ready to step foot onto the long bridge and cross it to get to Fuscia City, where Owen informed me another Gym is. But a guard in a blue uniform and police like cap stopped us in his toll booth.

"Watch it there kiddos, this here is Cycling Road," he told us stopping us at a sudden halt.

"Cycling Road?" Owen and I asked.

"As you can see only cars and bicycles are allowed on this bridge," he nodded as a car drove by.

"This bridge is huge!" I commented in utter amazement.

"It's over ten miles long, it would be dark out if you crossed it on foot," the man estimated.

"Well, we're too young to drive a car and we don't have any bikes," I hung my head sadly.

He nodded then guaranteed us, "You can always pay a visit to the local bike shop, I'm positive you can rent bikes there,"

"Alright, thanks," I waved as we set out for the bike shop.

"70 dollars to rent ONE bike!?!" I exclaimed as I pressed my face up against the glass window of the bike shop, starring in at all the sparkling, new bikes.

"Yupe," Owen said bluntly.

"Ughhhh," I moaned as I collapsed to my knees and whined, "We don't have that type of money!"

"Maybe if you didn't spend it all," he exasperated.

"Scuse' me!?" I got up and placed my hands on my hips.

"You buy everything you see! Hell, you'd probably buy that tree right there if it were for sale," he ridiculed and pointed to a stubby shrub.

"Look there's some bikes!" I pointed sneakily towards two bikes that leaned up against a building and were unattended.

"That would be stealing,"

"So?" I raised my brow, desperate need of bike. I normally wouldn't do something this evil, but it was just too tempting.

"Oh no," he gestured willingly, "I have no problem with it, I was just pointing out to Miss Goody-too-shoes," he joked.

"Just get the bikes," I snapped.

"Hey come back with our bikes!" a little boy and girl called to us as we began to ride away.

"Faster! Faster! Faster!" I shouted to Owen and we began to pedal harder.

We arrived at the Cycling Road gate to see the two little kids and a younger man, standing next to the toll booth. The little girl had short hair to her ears and flipped up at the ends. She wore a blue T-shirt with a Jigglypuff on it and some jean shorts. The little boy had short, brown hair and wore a red sweatshirt and jean shorts. The man next to them looked just like the little boy except older. He had short brown hair and wore a brown shirt with jeans and had some stubble on his chin.

"Those are them uncle!" the little girl cried as she pointed at us.

"Are you the two thieves that stole my niece and nephew's bikes!?" he asked us angrily.

"I'm deeply sorry sir, we didn't know they were yours," I shook in fear.

"So you think you can just go around stealing peoples' bikes!?!" he asked us towering over us.

"No sir," Owen and I stuttered.

"There's a bike shop in this town! You could've rented one from there!" he pointed out.

"We couldn't afford it…" I sighed sadly and embarrassed, feeling like a juvenile delinquent.

"Why didn't you say so!" the man's angered frown turned to a calming smile. "I'm the owner of that bike shop. How bout' I lend you two some bikes on the house,"

"Even after we stole your bikes?" I asked shocked of his generosity.

"All trainers have money problems, which leads them to thinking crazy, it's no problem," he assured us.

We arrived at the shop once again and the man rolled out two, sparkling, brand new bikes that glistened as the afternoon sun shined through the windows. One was green and one was blue, I liked the green one.

"Here we are, two, state of the art, brand new, Cross Ways! They're the best brand around," he nodded proudly. "Oh, how rude of us, we forgot to introduce ourselves!" the man smacked his forehead with his palm.

"I'm Kia," the little girl smiled.

"Call me Rudy," the small boy scratched the back of his head shyly.

"And I'm their uncle, Hiro," the man stated giddily.

"Great to meet you all," I chuckled feeling sort of awkward, "I'm Kylie and this is Owen,"

"I can introduce myself," Owen muttered, the children laughed.

"You're funny, Owen," the boy giggled.

"See that, he thinks I'm funny," Owen scoffed.

"Yeah, funny looking," I kidded with a laugh. "I wish there was something to give you for all of your generosity," I said.

"Please, take them," Hiro gestured kindly.

"Actually…" Rudy started.

"We would love to have a pokemon battle with you guys!" Kia jumped ecstatically. "We only do team battles though,"

"Kia, please calm down," Hiro placed his hands on her shoulders, then looked back up at me and Owen, "Please excuse my niece, I know you must be in a hurry to get to your next destination,"

"Fuscia City," I told him.

"Ah, so you must be going there for the contest?" he asked.

"No, I'm going there to challenge the Gym Leader, to get another badge," I informed him, not asking what a contest was because he was right, I was in a hurry to get there. It has almost been 4 months since I left home, I had to hustle and get all 8 badges in time for the pokemon league.

"Good luck," Hiro and his family waved as we rode off.

"You got yourselves some bikes, eh?" the man at the toll booth asked us as we pedaled by.

"Yes," I chuckled politely.

"Great, go on in," he waved us on and before I knew it, we were riding along on the beautiful bridge. The view of the glistening ocean and Pidgeotto flying peacefully through the air set us at ease. The tranquil sound of the bike's wheels turning on the pavement placed you in a trance. The sun's rays warmed our faces from the breeze that passed by as we road on our bicycles. Poliwag sat on Owen's shoulder as we traveled along on our bikes. I looked beyond the horizon to see that there was still a lot more bridge to travel across, and my legs began to grow tired.

"This is nice, but legs are killing me," I moaned and struggled to keep on pedaling.

"Wimp," Owen mocked bluntly then sped up and cut in front of me.

"Arghhh," I growled angrily then sped up to cut him off.

"What are you doing?" he asked raising his brow.

"I'm in front!" I informed him unhappily.

"Childish," he murmured under his breath.

To our surprise we saw some bikers blocking the bridge, and it didn't look like they were going to let us pass. As we got closer I realized it was the same motorcycle gang as the one from Celadon City. My jaw dropped stunned to see them again.

"Hello," I stammered as the bike gang cracked their knuckles angrily. "Long time no see," I waved slightly and smiled nervously.

"We're just going to… squeeze by and… uh… continue on!" Owen and I tried to inch past them but then Ray, the leader of the gang called out, "Not so fast!"

Owen and I shot up and stood there like statues.

"You two are those punks who foiled our plans at the Celadon City Gym!" he shouted furiously. "YOU!" he pointed at me. I batted my eye lashes innocently. "If it wasn't for you defeating us we would've gotten away!"

"Yes… well… um…" I stuttered.

"QUIET!" he ordered and scared all the slumbering birds off the poles of the bridge.

"We own Cycling Road! We don't let just anybody pass!" a girl in a leather vest and skirt with a pink tank top underneath stepped forward and explained.

"You guys don't own this bridge!" I protested.

"Never question our authority! Go Tododile!" Jay sent out his Tododile that I had beaten back in Celadon City.

"Go Grimer!" Tiny sent out a purple blob pokemon, the pokedex stated that it was a poison type pokemon.

"Charmander go!" I tossed his pokeball out in the open.

"Poliwag help out!" Owen told him.

"It's your turn Girafarig!" the girl chucked a pokeball containing a yellow horse like pokemon with an odd black tail with a face on it.

"Buzz, get out here and do your job!" Ray yelled at one of the bikers who sat lazily on his motorcycle, _his name must be Buzz_, I guessed.

"Go Aron!" that biker threw a pokeball that released a small, rodent looking pokemon that had a hard exterior of iron around its body.

"Two against four isn't fair!" I complained.

"Bike gangs don't play the rules, little girl," Ray wagged his finger. "Tododile use water gun!" the Tododile then inhaled and unleashed a powerful shot of water that hit Charmander.

"There's no way we can take all of them out by ourselves," said Owen.

"Help out Plusle!" a small girl's voice called from behind.

"You too Minun!" a little boy's voice cried immediately after.

We all turned to see Kia, Rudy, and their uncle Hiro running towards us. Two yellow, mouse like pokemon soared through the air then grabbed each other's paws to combine and unleash a powerful thunder bolt that shocked all the biker gang's pokemon.

"Tododile!" cried Jay.

"Grimer!" Tiny exclaimed.

"Are you alright Girafarig?" the girl kneeled by its side and pat it comfortingly.

"Aron, hang in there!" Buzz encouraged.

"You guys take those two," Rudy pointed to Jay and his Tododile, and then Grimer and Tiny. "We'll handle these other ones,"

"This is the way of a team battle!" Kia shouted.

"Charmander flamethrower!" I instructed. Charmander took a deep breath in then relinquished a strong blast of fire burning Jay, Tiny, and their pokemon to a crisp. "Nice shot Charmander!" I shouted happily.

"Cool them off with water gun Poliwag!" Owen told the tadpole pokemon. Poliwag shot a surprisingly hard-hitting water gun from its snout, soaking the bikers and their pokemon.

"Please stop!" Jay begged. Aron and Girafarig were just about to pass out too, we looked over at the two siblings and nodded.

"Combined attack!" all of us exclaimed in unison. Plusle and Minun released a thunder bolt while Charmander and Poliwag used flamethrower and water gun. The three powerful attacks coiled with one another and hit the biker gang causing them to ride off on their bikes crying to their mommies.

When the dust from their exhaust pipes cleared we spotted Jay's Tododile lying feebly on the ground. It shook weakly from taking all the attacks we had thrown at it.

"Oh my goodness!" I ran to it then fell to my knees tending to the injured pokemon.

"It seems to be badly injured, it probably can't move it's in so much pain," Hiro whispered as we all gathered around the wounded crocodile.

"We have to get it to a pokemon center straight away," Owen said to me.

"Why would they just leave it behind like that?" I looked down at Tododile that lay helplessly in my lap. "How could any trainer just abandoned their pokemon?"

"Look at those clouds, the sky isn't looking too bright anymore," Kia pointed out. She was right, grey, storm clouds moved in quickly and before we knew it small droplets of rain began to fall towards the earth. And the Fearow that circled the sky flew off to take cover.

"Kylie where are you going!?" Owen screamed through the pouring rain.

"Tododile's breathing is slowing down, I can't let him die!" I said determined as I hoped onto the green bike that was covered in dripping water and made my butt wet from the drenched seat. I pedaled as fast as I could with one hand on the handle bars and the other one holding the weak Tododile up against my chest. I had wrapped him up in my rain coat to keep him warm. Rain drops dripped down my face and off the end of my nose. Thunder boomed in the background making me jump a little each time it let out a thunderous explode.

"Hang in there, Tododile," I whispered to him while he shut his eyes and cringed in pain.

"Kylie, be careful!" Owen shouted to me trailing behind.

"I have to get this Tododile to a pokemon center!" I told him then began to pedal faster.

"Watch out!" Owen warned me as the middle of the bridge began to rise.

"What's going on!?" I asked him through the pounding rain.

"It's a draw bridge! The boat is coming into the harbor!" Owen exclaimed.

"Ohhh crap," I muttered.

"Todo…" Tododile said weakly.

"Don't worry Tododile, I won't let you down," I guaranteed him, looking down at the water type pokemon. I lifted my head and glared at the lifting bridge with determination burning in my eyes. I pushed on the pedals as hard as I could trying to speed up. The wind blew forcefully on my face, making my vision blur. My heart pounded as I reached the top of the draw bridge. I felt my stomach sink when I glided through the air. It actually felt exhilarating and thrilling to be up in the air with nothing beneath my feet, but that amazing feeling vanished as I began to drop.

"KYLIE! NO!" Owen screamed after me.

"Yes!" I sighed in relief when my bike had landed safely on the other side of the bridge. Catching me by surprise, my bike slipped out from under me and I slide across the pavement painfully. I opened my sore eyes to see Tododile sprawled out on the ground, with his eyes shut. I scrambled to my feet and rushed over to his aide. Holding him like a baby, I checked his pulse and luckily he was still alive and breathing, but there wasn't much time.

I ran to my bike and propped it up leaning it on the kick stand. Creating a hammock like carrier with my wet jacket and placing Tododile in it, I draped it around my shoulder so I was able to steer with both of my hands. My spirits brightened when I caught sight of a random pokemon center, it was a log cabin but still had a giant P that lit up the stormy sky. I tossed the bike into the mud, not caring that its new, shinny exterior was now covered in rust and mud.

"Nurse Joy, please help me!" I bursted through the doors and gasped for air.

"What's wrong!?" she hustled over and asked me with great concern.

"This Tododile," I wheezed and put my hands on my knees while a combination of rain and sweat dripped off the tip of my nose.

"You got here just in time," she smiled while taking the injured pokemon.

"He's not breathing too well," I informed her.

"It looks like he has an irregular heart beat, so that doesn't help," she nodded sadly.

"Please," I puffed, "save him,"

"I'll do the best I can," Nurse Joy said softly.

Nurse Joy took Tododile into a small emergency room where she hooked the water pokemon up to a heart monitor and placed him on a heating bed. I peered in at the sick pokemon and the only thing on my mind was hoping that Tododile would be alright. My legs fell asleep from standing so I slowly and weakly walked over to one of the few lounge chairs in the pokemon center. I liked this pokemon center, it was small and more home like. The fire place was lit so the flames flickered on the walls of the empty room. The warmth from the flames set me in a trance and caused me to doze off.

"Kylie," Nurse Joy woke me.

"Yes?" I answered tiredly while opening my heavy eyes.

"Tododile will be just fine," she informed me delightfully.

"Oh thank goodness," I sighed in relief.

"The only thing is…" she placed her finger on her chin and turned away.

"Yeah?" I asked her and got onto my feet.

"How could you let it get in such poor condition!?" she suddenly yelled at me.

"This isn't my Tododile! The bike gang left it behind in this condition!" I explained to her pulling back nervously.

"Oh, those nasty bikers have a bad reputation, I am sorry for blaming you," she apologized sincerely.

"No problem," I smiled.

"Kylie, are you alright?" a voice said from behind. I turned to see Owen running through the glass doors of the pokemon center.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told him.

"Where's Tododile?" he asked in great concern.

"Calm down," I chuckled. "He's ganna be fine,"

"That's good," he nodded.

A bell rang.

"That means Tododile is healed. What are you planning on doing with to Tododile? I mean, if you gave it back to Jay and his gang they might abuse it again," said Nurse Joy.

"Yeah," I sighed and hung my head.

Suddenly, we all heard the loud roar of engines outside. The three of us ran towards the grumbling noise and found Jay and his gang outside, circling in front of the pokemon center on their bikes.

"What are you doing here?" I asked them intolerantly.

"I heard you gots my Tododile, hand it over," Jay ordered.

"You don't deserve a pokemon if you're ganna leave it behind injured like it was," Nurse Joy told them angrily.

"I left it behind so it would learn to fend for itself and stop relying on daddy. I did it for its own good," Jay explained.

"That isn't the way to make a pokemon stronger," I shouted angrily.

"It takes long, hard days of training and patience!" Nurse Joy added in.  
"Training, smaining," Jay mocked. "It's my pokemon now give it back!"

"I think it's Tododile's decision," Nurse Joy folded her arms.

Tododile stepped forward and held its head high confidently. He then looked back at me with a doubtful look.

"Go on," I told him kindly.

"Todo!" Tododile scowled.

"Don't you dare use that tone with your master, you little, useless, runt!" Jay shouted frustratingly at the independent croc.

Tododile turned and faced me with a smile. He dashed over to me and I kneeled down on one knee to grasp him in a hug.

"Tododile you will regret this!" Jay shouted as the bike gang rode off and disappeared in the dust.

"Does this mean you want to travel with us Tododile?" I asked him as a tear of joy slowly rolled down my cheek.

"Todo!" he nodded gleefully.

"Well then, welcome to the group Tododile," I sniffed happily and opened up a pokeball which recalled him inside. The clicking sound of the pokeball confirmed it, Tododile was officially my pokemon, and I could never be happier.

"Alright! I caught a Tododile!" I declared while holding the pokeball up in the air. The sun had cleared and it was a brand new, and beautiful day.

"Technically, you didn't catch him," Owen disproved.

"Well, I still got him," I argued.

"There was no other good choices, there was you and that jerk biker, personally I would've gone with that biker then an obnoxious freak like you," Owen teased.

"I'm seriously going to kick you hard in the groin some day," I warned him, shaking my fists.

"You know you want to," Owen winked jokingly.

"Shut up, you're so immature," I insulted. "Well, thank you for everything Nurse Joy!" I turned to her and thanked politely.

"No problem, I think we taught those bikers a lesson," she smiled. "Good luck on your journey!" she called to us and waved as we began to walk away.

"Thanks! Bye!" we called back and set out for our next destination, the Fuscia City Gym.


	38. Ace is on the Case!

Chapter 38

It was another sunny, cheerful day as Owen and I made our way to Fuscia City. Owen let Poliwag out of his pokeball and let him sit up on his shoulder. The tiny pokemon looked around astounded by the wonders of the atmosphere of the blank, dirt trail that we walked on.

Suddenly, ending our peaceful and quiet stroll along the path, a young trainer was on his hands and knees sobbing as the dirt from the road covered his clothes.

"Are you all right?" I asked the young boy as he began to collect himself to his feet that were bare.

"A big bully stole all my badges," he whaled.

"What?!" I gasped in shock. "What kind of jerk would do that!?"

"He bet that he could win against me for all my badges, and he did," the boy started to calm down but still had trouble getting his words out through the continuous tears rolling down his filthy cheeks.

"Well, first off, I don't think you should have agreed to that bet," I told the little boy sternly, and he nodded his head in agreement and shame.

"What did the guy look like?" Owen asked while petting Poliwag's head.

"No worries everyone!" a sudden voice said from behind. We all turned around swiftly to see a teenage boy standing on a tall rock. The sun shined from behind him making him look like a glorious hero. But he looked like a total nerd, he wore a lime green T-shirt and jeans. The thing that was the most odd about him wasn't the fact that he had a random camera hanging around his neck, but it was the fact that he had a dark blue tie wrapped around his forehead.

"Who are you?" I asked raising a brow and tried not bursting out in laughter at the sight of the strange boy.

"I am Theodore Ace! Wherever there is an unsolved mystery, Ace is on the case!" he exclaimed proudly then leaped down from the tall rock. "Now where precisely did the stranger steal the badges? What time of day was it at? Do you just happen to know his blood type!?" the boy interrogated, asking the questions rapidly one after another.

The little boy whimpered in fear.

"Listen, 'Ace', you aren't ganna get any answers out of the kid if you petrify him," I said gently pushing the wanna-bee detective out of my way.

"Nothing is going to get done if we don't start asking MORE questions!" Ace emphasized.

"Don't worry, we'll help you," I assured the boy and placed my hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "What's your name?"

"Marcus," the boy sniffled.

"Marcus, it is my job as a junior detective and volunteer assistant to the assistant of the assistant's assistant at the official pokemon court, to solve this mystery!" Ace said profoundly.

When all of us heard the sound of an engine we turned our heads to see an Officer Jenny driving in a police van. She looked serious and solemn as she grew near. A loud screech echoed through out as the police officer slammed on the brakes.

"What's all this gathering for? Move it along people! Don't cause traffic in the roads! SOME people are in a hurry and trying to get through!" she ordered at us sternly with the window rolled down.

"We're sorry Officer Jenny, but someone stole this boy's badges," I explained to her.

"What!?" she gasped. "That is just terrible! I am so sorry for alarming you all with my unnecessary shouting!" she apologized as she hopped out of the large, white van.

"No need for extra assistance since Ace is here!" Ace continued to speak in third person, sounding like an idiot.

"This is a matter for the police! Not some over confident teenage boy with a tie around his head!" she told him without caring that she could've hurt his feelings.

The boy frowned.

"Everyone get in the van and we'll find this thief!" Officer Jenny guaranteed us. We all climbed into the van one by one with Marcus sitting in the front seat, wiping away the dirt and tears from his face. He finally stopped crying once Officer Jenny arrived.

All of the sudden, Officer Jenny stepped onto the gas pedal with great force causing all of our backs to get glued to the back of our seats. We all searched for any walking civilian that could be the badge thief. The surroundings of the outdoors flew by as we continued to drive quickly on the dirt road. Without any warning, the earth bellow gave out and the back half of the van fell into a giant pot hole. We all screamed as the sudden accident occurred and steam from the car engine floated out from under the hood.

"Everyone get out quickly!" Officer Jenny commanded.

When we all got out of the van safely then stood around and starred at the damage, not knowing what to do. The badge stealer was out on the loose with that kid's badges and could get away with it! I couldn't stand the thought of that.

"I need a tow truck and back up out here on Route 17, stat!" Officer Jenny yelled clearly into her walky-talky. "I'm sorry everyone but it might be a while until we get a ride into town," she broke the news to us then we all moaned in frustration.

"Hmmm…" Ace thought to himself as he knelt down and examined the hole that the van had fallen into. "This hole is far too big to have been created by Mother Nature herself!" Ace proclaimed.

"Who would waste their time to make a stupid hole?" I asked.

"Someone trying to catch something, or trying to stop someone," Owen guessed.

"Looks like it worked too!" a mysterious and surprising voice said from behind. We all turned around to see a chubby teenage boy with green, long, spiky hair that dangled in front of his round face. He wore a dark blue hoodie khaki, cargo shorts.

"He's the bully that stole my badges!" Marcus cried.

"I demand you to give these little boy's badges back right this instant!" Officer Jenny ordered.

"No can do!" the thief refused.

"I am a police officer and I am telling you to give the badges back!" Officer Jenny shouted getting aggervated.

"No way! I won these badges with skill!" the young criminal boasted.

"Skill of breaking the law!" Officer Jenny remarked.

"Burnnnn!" Owen added in jokingly.

"You'll have to win them from me in a pokemon battle!" he challenged with a confident smirk.

"No problem!" I stepped forward.

"I was thinking more of a real challenge, like that guy!" he said ignorantly and pointed at Owen.

"I'LL SHOW YOUR SEXEST FAT ASS THAT GIRLS CAN BATTLE JUST AS GOOD AS GUYS CAN!!!" I admonished and screamed extremly angry. How dare he turn me down because I'm a girl!

"Go Nidorino!" the evil boy chucked a pokeball that contained a large, purple pokemon that looked like a rat with a long, poisonous horn on its forehead.

"Go Charmander!" I threw his pokeball out in between us and he popped out with a determined and fiery look just like the one I had.

"Go Growlithe!" Officer Jenny then tossed a pokeball with a Growilthe in it that looked almost like mine.

"Want to battle Poliwag?" Owen asked his small, water pokemon. The little toddler, pokemon squealed in excitement then launched off Owen's shoulder and landed next to Charmander and the Growlithe ready to battle.

"Three against one is not fair!" the boy complained.

"If you aren't ganna play by the rules," Owen started.

"Neither are we!" I finished and made a fist with my hand.

"Like I care, I'm still not giving back the badges I won!" the bully decreed.

"Charmander flamethrower!" I told him.

"Growlithe fire spin!" Officer Jenny pointed at the target confidently.

"Poliwag bubblebeam!" Owen shouted.

All at once, the three attacks swirled into one rope-like band and hit the theif and his Nidorino with great force making them both shreik for mercy. His clothes turned charcoal black from the instant heat from the two fire attacks then the combination of the water cooled it down but still created a painful strike.

The badge bully and his Nidorino turn and ran away in fear and tossed a random bag up into the air. As they ran off into the distance whalling for their mommies, Marcus slowly yet happily walked over to the fallen bag that sat plump on the dirt ground. He picked up the bag taking his time untying the knot that pulled the cloth together. Marcus's eyes widened and glistened brightly at the sight of the badges that sat in the grey-green fabric. He snuggled the eight badges up against his chin and closed his eyes grateful that he had gotten them back after all the hard work he had accomplished to get them.

"Look they're all here!" the boy turned with a tear of joy running down his cheek.

"That's great Marcus!" I smiled.

"I'd just like to thank everyone for helping me get them back! I worked so hard to get them!" Marcus explained and thanked us.

"No problem, just make sure you don't run into that boy again, Marcus," Officer Jenny joked.

"Anytime!" I assured him giving him a friendly wink.

"Now let me just take these in for a few finger print tests and them maybe I could…" Ace stole the bag from the boy's hands and examined them with a magnifine glass.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he won't be stealing badges ever again!" I interrupted and gave surety as I took the bag away from Ace and handed them back to Marcus.

A sudden beep from Officer Jenny's pager made us jump in sudden shock of the noise.

"Sorry everyone, that's my pager and I must be going, there's been an accident in town!" Officer Jenny scratched her forehead from the hassle and then in the nick of time the tow truck showed up and hauled Officer Jenny and the broken van away.

"Hey, where did Ace go?" I asked looking around for him.

"Were you hoping he'd tag along?" Owen chuckled.

"Heck no, that kid was weird!" I pulled back in disgust.

"Well I'm ganna head the other way and visit my grandma in the town near by," Marcus said and started our good-byes.

"I hope to see you in the Pokemon League," I told him.

"Don't give up Kylie, I know you can collect all your badges in time for the competition!" he reassured.

"Um, thanks," my spirit sunk when I thought about the fact that a little ten year old boy had already collected all his badges, and I only have five.

"See ya!" Marcus turned and waved.

"Bye!" Owen and I began walking the other way and waved back.

So I did learn one thing today, no matter what age, shape, or size, you can always do anything imaginable.


	39. Protecter of the South Winds

Chapter 39

"STOP THERE YOUNG TRAVELERS!" a sudden voice came from above. All of the sudden a teenage boy with a black cape on leaped down from a tall rock and landed in front of our path. "I am Dusty, protector of the south winds! My pokemon and I shall defeat you in a noble battle of wits and claim the name of victory upon your statures!"

"I don't think so," I chuckled about to continue on walking.

"Halt infantile novice! A match must be provided for the lord of the winds!" he called after us, voice weakening to a state of desperation.

"Alright kid, I'll battle you," I gave in and still couldn't help but laugh at the teenage boy with dark, bowl cut hair and black cape tied perfectly around his neck, while his simple black T-shirt and jeans contrasted with his mid-evil look.

"Stupendous, I shall choose for my first worrier Zubat!" he cried like a confident soldier charging in a battle field and tossed out at a pokeball containing a blue bat like pokemon with long, white fangs that reminded me of a vampire.

"Zubat huh?" I questioned pulling out my pokedex.

_Even though Zubat has no eyes, it can sense obstacles using ultrasonic waves it emits from its mouth._

"Well for this battle I'll choose Houndour!" I announced throwing out his pokeball.

"Zubat, pierce the weak canine with your bite!" Dusty told it.

As fast as the speed of light, Zubat flew over towards Houndour and sunk its long fangs into Houndour's skin while he yelped in pain. Zubat drew away from Houndour proud of its powerful and effective attack but flapped its wings tiredly.

"Houndour use your faint attack!" I instructed. He immediately jumped into action and sprinted towards Zubat with all its ability and gave Zubat a fierce look in its eye while he bashed his head up on Zubat's body. The frail bat let out a high pitched squeal that stung all our ears but wasn't about to give up, for its small size, this Zubat was one of the hardest working pokemon I've ever battled.

"Zubat inflict Houndour with your supersonic!" Dusty ordered rapidly.

Zubat opened its bloody mouth from biting Houndour and released an ear splitting screech that traveled in invisible waves and confused Houndour. The fire pokemon looked in all directions with a dopey look, and then looked back at me like he never saw me in his life.

"Houndour snap out of it and use ember!" I told him loudly trying to break the confusion spell.

"Lay another bite on him Zubat!" Dusty cried happily with sure confidence of victory, but the battle wasn't over.

Once again, Zubat darted over towards Houndour and extended its long teeth readying them to break the skin of my Houndour's neck just as if a vampire would bite an innocent human being. The clueless Houndour starred at the charging pokemon and didn't act in anyway, I screamed and shouted to my pokemon to snap out of it, trying to get him to come back to the real world. I resisted recalling him back to his pokeball, knowing that I would've lost to a weasel that called me a novice. But all of the sudden, just before Zubat was about to bite Houndour, Houndour started to glow a bright white. His entire body was engulfed in the blinding rays of brightness. Eventually, his body began to shape shift into a larger and more adult looking dog like pokemon. His short, silver horns grew longer and curled at its ends and his longer legs and developed snout made him look even more ferocious then before.

I jumped in excitement as the light weakened and revealed my newly evolved Houndour. I pulled out my pokedex from my messenger bag's pocket rapidly and almost dropped the devise anxious to hear the description of my new pokemon.

_Houndoom, the evolved form of Houndour, long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper_

"This is unbelievably awesome!" I squealed in delight.

"_Houndoom_!" he howled in a deeper and more threatening voice.

"Your pokemon may have evolved but it doesn't mean it has won this joust!" Dusty exclaimed. "Zubat use leach life!"

"Houndoom use smog now!" I commanded. Layers of thick, black smoke floated out of Houndoom's mouth and filled the air with the sticky feeling of the hot smog up against our skin. The horrid smell drifted up into our nostrils and clogged our lungs with the fiery smoke.

"It's a shame how you didn't acknowledge the fact that Zubat has the special ability radar and can spot out the position of your pokemon even through this heavy layer of smoke," Dusty said showing off his prior knowledge.

"What!?" I shouted shocked and unaware of this ability.

"Zubat use wing attack!" Dusty told it. The bat pokemon flew into the premises of the smoke and became unseen along with Houndoom. I shook in fear and nervousness of the fact that it was just between Zubat and him in the atmosphere of this smog. The smoke slowly started to clear and the sight of our pokemon became more visible by the minute. The dark smoke was eventually blown away to reveal the two pokemon nose to nose and starring angrily at one another.

"Zubat use bite!" Dusty called out immediately.

"Houndoom use your fire fang!" I said instantly afterwards.

The two pokemon withdrawal away from each other and stood motionless for a moment, but then like a wrestling bell was just rung to start the match, the two pokemon flew up into the air and darted at each other. Zubat tried tackling Houndoom in the air but Houndoom easily moved out of the way of the weak attack and then turned his head to sink his flaming canine teeth into the poison pokemon. Houndoom closed his mouth onto the Zubat and clamped it shut tightly as the pokemon screamed in pain and flapped its wings vigorously trying to escape the dreadful pain of the burning bite.

When Houndoom let the pokemon free from its mouth the Zubat fell to the ground and laid there twitching slightly. Houndoom stood over the fainted pokemon in glory.

"Zubat return!" Dusty said sadly as the red light from the pokeball retrieved his injured pokemon back inside of it. He sulked over towards us disappointed but congratulated me like a good sport.

"That was truly a marvelous match that I won't soon forget!" he smiled broadly while shaking my hand.

"Yeah, you guys did great," I complimented kindly.

"I apologize for insulting your magnificent talents by calling you a novice. Expert would be more of a wise choice," he insisted. "I hope to train my pokemon enough to be as wondrous as you some day," he nodded.

"You're one of the toughest trainers I've ever battled! Keep training and you'll become a great trainer that I look forward to battling again someday!" I encouraged enthusiastically.

"Much obliged," he bowed oddly yet respectfully and turned around to begin walking back on the path of his journey, but a raspy, old voice stopped him from behind. All three of us spun around to see an old couple standing behind us with charming smiles on their faces.

"Young lad, we saw your excellent training skills and we would like to offer you some help," the old man said while pushing his glasses back up on his nose.

"Come again?" Dusty stated puzzled.

"We run a day care center not too far from here and were wondering if you'd like us to train your pokemon for a while?" the old woman suggested.

"… I don't know…" Dusty said unsure.

"How about if we help you on the house?" the old man insisted.

"If it would not bothersome to you, it would be greatly appreciated," Dusty walked over to the old couple and handed them 2 pokeballs.

"Stop by anytime in Murky Metropolis where our daycare center is and pick up your lovely pokemon," the old woman told Dusty.

"See you delightful children soon!" the old man exclaimed happily as the old couple waddled away. Dusty turned towards us and smiled brightly.

"Good bye and good luck once again my fellow travelers," said Dusty sincerely.

"Same to you," I replied.

The boy nodded and turned around and walked off to who knows where. The sun had set and there was no moon in the sky to help guide our way through the forest.

"I can't see a thing!" Owen complained.

"I know, Charmander I choose you," I said softly in the early night and opened up his pokeball. The red light that exploded from the pokeball created some light for a split second, but then the brightness dimmed down to the tiny source coming from Charmander's flickering tail.

"_Char-Char_!" Charmander said pleased.

"Charmander, help us find our way to the next town," I asked while kneeling down to his eye level. He smiled and was more then happy to help lead the way. We walked along while Charmander held his tail out in front of us like a flash light. We heard a few faint voices in the distance but couldn't see the source of the voices from the darkness of the woods. Suddenly, we heard a voice call for help. The three of us scurried over to the noise and found Dusty glaring angrily at the old couple that offered to take care of his pokemon.

"Kylie! Owen! These thieves stole my pokemon!" he cried to us.

"What!?" I pulled back totally shocked that a sweet couple like them would steal pokemon.

"This shouldn't be a surprise!" the old woman snickered.

"You should be used to it by now…" the old man chuckled wickedly.

"Who are you!?" I asked them getting angry and impatient.

"Listen is that a question I hear?" the old woman said.

"It's asking us loud and clear," the old man recited.

"What are you talking about!?" Dusty questioned also getting irritated and infuriated.

"Floating on the wind!" the old woman posed elegantly.

"Past the stars!" the old man extended his arms up in the air.

"In your ear!" unpredictably the talking Meowth from Team Rocket poked its head out of the old man's coat, like he was disguised as the elder's gut.

"Bringing chaos at a break neck pace!" Jesse said taking off her disguise which was the old woman.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!" James shouted and took his disguise of the old man off.

"Team Rocket!" Owen and I exclaimed.

"That's right! And don't even think for a second that we're giving this twerp's pokemon back!" Meowth commanded.

"You malevolent criminals better hand over my pokemon now!" Dusty threatened.

"Or what you'll throw your dictionary at us, fancy speaking boy?" Jesse teased.

"Charmander get ready!" I told him.

"_Charmander_!" he said ready for action.

"Now, use ember!" I instructed.

"Seviper, come out and use smog!" Jesse tossed her Seviper's pokeball girlishly and her toxic, black snake popped out of the pokeball.

"_Seviper_!" it screeched viciously. Black smoke poured out of the Seviper's mouth and covered the ground with the impossible to see through fog. Me, Dusty, Owen, and Charmander searched around for the mischievous Team Rocket but alls we could see was the thick layer of smoke in front of our eyes, burning them each time we opened them up.

"This is when it would be handy to have a flying type pokemon," I complained, getting sick of this situation always happening.

Suddenly, we heard the evil laughs of the trio from a far and above, we all looked up above us but still couldn't see anything but smoke.

"You three come back down here immediately!" Dusty shouted into the night sky but was not heard by the escaping Team Rocket.

I began to walk around, trying to find an area clear of smoke so I could locate the fleeing team of crooks. I waved my arms around in front of me so I wouldn't run into anything but I accidentally stepped on a pokemon's tail and it screamed loudly in pain and shook the slumbering forest.

"_CHARMANDER_!" it screamed.

"Woops, sorry Charmander," I apologized but continued on searching for an opening of clear air.

"_Char_..." he sniffled while rubbing his bruised tail, and the smoke finally began to clear. A large gust of wind blew the black smog out of sight and we were all able to see one another again, and also see that Team Rocket was not to far gone!

"It was the South Winds!" Dusty said ecstatically like he had just discovered lost treasure, "They helped clear the smoke so we could find Team Rocket!"

"Charmander use flamethrower and pop a hole in their balloon!" I told him. Charmander inhaled a large amount of air then released a stream of fire that exploded when it collided with Team Rocket's hot air balloon. The three burned, crooks fell to the ground with a loud thump and held their aching heads from the large drop. The team froze when they spotted Charmander and me ready for action.

"Don't! Don't!" Team Rocket begged as they held each other in fear.

"_CHARRR_!" Charmander cried as he unleashed a powerful flamethrower that sent Team Rocket plummeting into the air.

"Good work Charmander!" I told him and flashed him a thumbs up, as he dashed over and hugged my leg happily.

Dusty quickly ran over to catch his two falling pokeballs. They fell into his arms and he smiled delightfully.

"Kylie, I would much appreciate another duel of pokemon," Dusty faced.

"I would love to," I accepted with a smile.

The sun had risen and Dusty and I stood apart forming our battle field. The dew on the grass made our socks damp and forest pokemon were just awakening to the sound of our commotion.

"Ready for another beating, Dusty?" I asked him teasingly.

"Bring it on simpleton," he glared confidently as he expanded one of his pokeballs. "Go Venomoth!" when the pokeball hit the ground and opened up a large, purple moth like pokemon appeared and flapped its wings forcefully.

"Not yet Venomoth," Dusty told it.

"A bug type huh? I would normally use a fire type since I know I'd have an advantage, but I think I'm ganna try out our new team player," I spun the pokeball on my finger as I cockily explained.

"Whatever you choose, just don't take your time," Dusty sneered.

"C'mon on out, Tododile!" I exclaimed as I chucked his pokeball dramatically out onto the battle field.

"Shall we begin our clash of ambitious extent?" Dusty asked with his enriched language.

"Yes, we shall," I giggled at his fancy talk.

"Venomoth start things off with sleep powder!" Dusty commanded like a sergeant under going war.

"MMMM I WANT TO PUT SOME SLEEP POWDER ON YOU KYLIE!" Owen shouted from the sidelines.

"Tododile, blast it away with water gun then use slash!" I told him. Tododile nodded gladly and willingly while inhaling before unleashing a shot of water gun that made the sleep powder dissolve with in it. Tododile then leaped into the air and soared towards the flying Venomoth. Tododile extended his claws ready to scratch the air born insect.

"Venomoth inflict the croc with confusion!" Dusty called to his poison type pokemon. Purple rays drew away from Venomoth's body and bounced off Tododile causing him to fall to the ground with a loud thump.

"Bounce off your tail and use water gun!" I told him rapidly. Tododile quickly recovered and launched himself towards Venomoth using momentum from his tail. He inhaled once again then let loose powerful tons of water that made Venomoth crash to the ground.

"You can remain victorious Venomoth!" Dusty encouraged.

"Great job Tododile, now use scratch!" I instructed. Seeing the opportunity as Tododile stood over the collapsed moth, he cut the moth's abdomen with his sharp claws which made it cry in pain.

"Get up Venomoth!" Dusty cried. The weak Venomoth attempted to get itself back up in the air and as it struggled I called out another command, "Finish it off and use bite!"

Tododile clamped his teeth onto the bug pokemon and made it cry for mercy as it let out its piercing shrieks. When Tododile let go of the Venomoth it fell to the ground like a piece of paper and laid there motionless.

"Venomoth return," Dusty shamefully returned his pokemon back to its pokeball and sulked over towards me and Owen, who had a picture of me in his hand and in the other his man parts.

"That was a great battle!" I told Dusty enthusiastically which brightened his spirits.

"Although I was overpowered twice, I was still honored to have battled such a professional and profound trainer such as yourself," said Dusty.

"Thank you," I said respectfully.

"The south winds may not have facilitated me but I can not rely on others," he said to himself sternly. "Good luck on your journey," Dusty stood up straight and nodded disciplined like a soldier.

"You too," I told him.

"I look forward to our next match,"

"It'll be worth the wait," I assured him and smiled.

"I have learned a lot from you today, but I still have more to discover. I can only dream of obtaining your sort of battling skill, you truly have a natural born talent my good friend," Dusty complimented.

"Thanks," I chuckled.

The boy turned around and began to disappear in the sun, walking on the road where ever the south winds plan to blow him.


	40. Murky Metropolis Mishaps

Chapter 40

"This place gives me the creeps," I shivered while rubbing my arms. We came across a gloomy city called Murky Metropolis, a town that became over populated with factories and smoke stacks which drove tourists and travelers away. Unfortunately we had to cross through this town to get to Fuscia City.

"Me too, I mean where the heck is everyone? All there are is just a bunch of factories," Owen said peering up at the tall, smoke stacks. We gazed through the foggy air and watched the multiple smoke stacks pollute the once good air.

"_Poli_…" Poliwag said sickly.

"Poliwag doesn't sound too good," I observed.

Owen picked him up off his head. He held him in his arms like a baby and felt his sweaty forehead. "He feels like he's sick, but I don't think it's a fever because his head is cold," Owen inferred.

"Let's take him to a pokemon center to be safe," I suggested.

We arrived at the pokemon center which was also in glum condition along with the rest of the town. The pollution had died the walls a disgusting brown and black that made you loose your appetite. The inside of the pokemon center was in better condition. It was painted white with a few purple lounge chairs. Owen gently placed Poliwag on the counter who plopped on his side weakly.

"Nurse! Nurse Joy! Anyone!?" I called for help and rang the silver bell on the counter.

"Oh, hello, I am truly sorry to keep you waiting but we hardly ever get any patients here," Nurse Joy walked in from a back room and explained tiredly. "What interests you in visiting an icky town like this?" she asked kindly.

"We were just making our way through to get to Fuscia City," I told her.

"Oh I see," she nodded and smiled so bright it seemed like the only source of light in the town. "So what do we have here?" she asked looking down at Poliwag.

"Ever since we arrived he's been acting sick," Owen told her worried.

"This air doesn't help anything in this town," the nurse hung her head sadly. "I don't think I've seen a flower or even a blade of grass grow here,"

"Why are there so many factories?" Owen asked her.

"They've been here so long… I honestly don't remember why," she admitted.

"So will Poliwag be alright?" Owen asked changing the subject back to his ill pokemon.

"He just needs an antidote and some rest," she smiled assuring.

We sighed in relief.

She took Poliwag into the back room with her while Owen and I waited in the quiet lounge area. The furniture was the exact same furniture as the other pokemon centers. They had purple cushioned, metal chairs and white ends tables that stored all the boring magazines. With out realizing, I fell asleep for about 30 minutes and woke up to see Nurse Joy walking towards us with Poliwag in her arms.

"Poliwag is good to go! He might be a little out of it for a while. The weather here just gave him a mild case of the sniffles, he manly just has a head cold," she informed us.

"I'll let him take it easy in his pokeball," Owen said as he returned the infant pokemon to its pokeball.

"What is the quickest way out of this place?" I asked Nurse Joy, changing the topic.

"You can always take the subway. Those are just down the street and they'll take you right to Fuscia City!" she explained generously.

"Thank you,"

"No problem,"

"Bye! Thanks again!" we waved to her as we walked out of the pokemon center.

As the doors swung open we got hit by a rough gust of wind. The chills crawled up my legs and made my knees wobble as we walked towards the underground subway.

"It looks like it's ganna rain," Owen shouted through the harsh winds. Rain droplets began to fall from the sky and pretty soon we were being pelted hard with the down pour of rain.

We managed to find the entrance to the subway through the fog and heavy rain. Water dripped from the ceiling making it seem like a creepy dungeon. The cold walls condensated and a dim light from the wall lamps flickered as the underground area shook from the heavy moving trains.

"It looks like we'll be the only passengers tonight," Owen observed.

The metal train abruptly stopped in front of us and the automatic doors struggled to open on its rusty tracks. Owen and I stepped into the humid cabin and looked around for any other people riding the subway, but there was no one else.

A sign explained that the train was automated so it would just go straight to Fuscia City and not need a conductor to drive and supervise it. That made me a little nervous seeing the condition of everything in this town, but I've heard nice things about Fuscia City.

"Let's sit here I guess," I pointed to a row of seats and Owen shrugged. We sat down on the hard, plastic chairs and waited patiently for the cart to be in motion.

After a couple minutes the subway surprised us both by suddenly jerking forward causing a loud screech that stung our ear drums, then the train finally moved along smoothly. My eye lids attempted to shut but I told myself to stay awake. I still didn't trust this non-supervised subway. Owen slouched in his chair with his arms folded and right away dozed off, so I thought I might as well too.

A while later the train suddenly stopped. The noisy scratching of the wheels rubbing up against the tracks woke me up unexpectedly.

"What's going on?" I asked and sat up straight.

"I don't know, go back to sleep," Owen mumbled grouchily with his eyes still closed.

"Owen wake up, we stopped," I shook the boy back and forth. "But look we're still underground," I pointed out the window to the cement walls that surrounded us.

"Crap…" he murmured.

"Well this is just fantastic," I said sarcastically then yawned. I checked my watch to see it was 9:45 pm so we were only about twenty minutes away from arriving at the station.

"We could just walk if we honestly felt like it," mentioned Owen.

"Yeah…" I sighed unsure of what to do, and tried to think of a plan. My head wanted to collapse into my palm and my eye lids wanted to close, but I this wasn't the time to take a nap, obviously.

"Have no fear!" a sudden voice echoed over the subway intercom.

"What the heck?" I stood up and exclaimed. "There are other people on here!?"

"Everyone stay calm because Ace is on the case!" the boy's voice proclaimed.

"Oh boy," I exhaled while smacking my forehead with my hand.

Ace burst through the sliding doors that connected to the cart before us. He looked just as ridiculous as the last time we saw him. He held the intercom microphone in his hand and by his side was a small weed looking pokemon with a yellow head.

"Nice Bellsprout," Owen joked sarcastically.

"This is my assistant in crime," Ace explained proudly through the microphone.

"We're the only other people on this train. You don't have to make us deaf by screaming through the microphone," I told him irritably.

"My bad," he said embarrassed while scratching the back of his head. "Looks like we're stuck, so I'm thinking of breaking into the front cabin and steering our way out of here! Who's with me!?" he turned and exclaimed happily and began to march towards the conductor's room along side with his Bellsprout. We followed the boy and his pokemon to the main cabin where we saw many buttons and levers that controlled the subway.

"The power must've shut down and that's why we're stuck," Ace brain stormed.

"But the lights are still on, I don't think that's it," Owen disagreed.

"What do you think this does?" Ace asked gesturing towards a long, red lever that stuck out of the ground. Without us answering he pulled the lever and a loud siren began to echo within the train and red lights flashed.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" I shouted at him while covering my ears. Ace immediately pulled the lever back as it was and the alarm stopped sounding.

"Yeah, here's an idea… DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!" I planted my feet intolerably.

"Sorry," he shrugged with a nervous smile.

"I'm guessing you say that a lot, don't ya kid?" Owen asked him and rolled his eyes.

Suddenly the lights flickered off and left us in the pitch dark cabin. My vision was fuzzy until I adjusted to the light and then I could make out some figures and shapes.

"Well this sucks," I said frankly.

"I got a match," Ace announced and then a small spark of light lit up our close surroundings. I could see the expression on Ace's face and he was delighted that he had found a match.

"You just happen to have a match on you, why?" I asked him sounding some what rude.

"You never know what you'll get into as a junior detective," he told us happily and I chuckled at his low status.

"It's really cold," I quivered and held my bare arms.

"Suck it up," Ace surprisingly told me which caught me by surprised because this kid was always happy. Annoying, but happy.

I tried using the handle on the door that lead out of the main cabin but the rusty tracks were preventing it from opening.

"It's stuck," I groaned.

"Here let me try," Owen walked over and tugged on the handle. His small yet muscular arms flexed as he tried to get the jammed door to open. "Yeah, I don't think it's ganna open," he broke it to us.

"Great," I threw my arms up in the air annoyed. "Why do all these bad things happen to us? I mean, I don't think we've gotten anywhere peacefully," I realized.

A thunderous roar shook through out the subway train and startled us.

"Sounds like thunder and lightening. It's really not safe to be under ground during a lightening storm because that's were lightening gets absorbed to," Ace stated smartly while looking at the metal ceiling.

"What the heck!? Why is there water on the floor?" I asked picking up my soggy shoes and starring down at the wet floor. There was about an inch of water and it was leaking in from the other cabin.

"This doesn't look good," Owen murmured, gazing through the door's window at the slow leak coming from the cabin two carts down from us.

"It looks like the subway is getting filled with water, but why?" Ace questioned while rubbing his chin in thought.

"And how?" I added.

We opened up the side door that led outside of the subway train. The cement walls that were about three feet away from the cart dripped with dirty water. Suddenly, we heard a loud roar growing closer and closer towards us. We poked our heads outside to see a giant wave of water flowing towards us. It splashed up against the side of the subway making it crash into the other side of the cement wall. Like Scooby-doo and Shaggy, we scrambled out of the cabin and began to sprint for our lives!

"My Bellsprout!" Ace cried and realized he left his pokemon inside the cart and the water was close to crashing into us. Ace ran back and returned the pokemon into its pokeball and then when he caught up by our side we booked it! My chest pounded and my legs throbbed then I looked back to see the massive wave of rain and sewage water was gaining on us.

"I don't know how much longer I can run!" I puffed. Then I brain stormed a brilliant idea, "Ponyta I choose you!" I tossed the pokeball in front of us and Ponyta immediately popped out and began running along side of us. I quickly swung my leg over and sat on her stable back. I grasped my arm around her neck and with my other arm I reached out as far as I could for Owen to grab a hold of. My heart beat like a bongo drum as the charging water began to speed up.

Owen clutched my hand tightly and even crushed my fingers but I ignored the pain and pulled him up behind me. Ponyta kept a steady pace and Ace was struggled to run along side of us and I reached my hand out once again for him to climb up but he grew tired.

"I can't make it," he managed to say.

"Just grab my hand!" I told him and grew angry that he was about to give up on his own life!

"I can't!" he whimpered.

"Ace! Take my hand and get up here!" I screamed angrily holding back my tears of disappointment and frustration. All of the sudden…

"ACE!!! NOOO!!!"

**A/N: What happened to our favorite junior detective Ace?! Will the group make it out of the tunnel alive before the water overflows!? Stay tuned to find out! And don't forget to review once and a while:D**


	41. The Tunnel Escape

Chapter 41

"ACE!!! NOOOO!!!" I called to him as he was sucked up by the massive wave like a vacuum cleaner. "He's gone," I muttered depressingly. Before I knew it he had disappeared in the water.

"No time for that!" Owen shouted, bringing me back to reality. The fast flowing water was so close it was splashing on us.

"We're never ganna beat this wave. We're all done for," I sighed unfaithfully.

Suddenly, Ponyta began to glow a bright white all around her body, lighting up the dark tunnel. Her figure began to shape shift into a taller and broader horse. A horn grew in between her ears like a mystical unicorn and flames spurred off her legs.

"Oh my goodness, is Ponyta evolving!?" I asked with my jaw dropped in amazement.

"Into Rapidash!" Owen finished.

"This is incredible!" I sung happily and punched my fist into the air, almost making myself loose my balance on the horse like pokemon. "Rapidash, the fastest pokemon out there! Sprinting her heart out to beat the clock!" I said in deep voice pretending to be an announcer at a horse race. Rapidash's legs looked invisible as she gained speed incredibly fast and left the overflowing sewage water in the dust.

To our surprise, a light shinned in the distance brightening our spirits. The end of the tunnel was nearing and we could see the moonlight shinning brightly from outside. Rapidash galloped outside into the fresh air, feeling the cool, night breeze against our clammy skin. Drying sweat sat under my armpits and on my forehead from all the nerve racking fleeing of the dangerous water. I rubbed my eyes tiredly and covered my wide yawn with the palm of my hand. I lifted my wrist to check the time on my orange colored watch, but the water had broken the hands and the glass that covered the flame dial was smashed. I frowned as I looked at the busted wrist watch remembering that my dad had given it to me before I left so I could always be on time.

"We made it out," I closed my eyes thankfully.

"It just goes to show, when the sun goes down, stay above ground," Owen recited jokingly.

"You've been waiting to say that haven't you?" I asked him.

"Yupe," he answered proudly.

I wondered if Ace had miraculously survived and I hope he did. Although the boy was annoying, he is still human. _No one deserves to go that way_, I thought to myself, _not even an irritating geek like him_. What if Ace just happened to be a good swimmer? Let's hope he is, because that mini title wave would be tough to over come. Next I wondered if the water had made it out of the subway tunnel yet. Maybe it pushed him along and someone found him lying there and saved him. _Poor kid, I hope he's okay_, I hung my head sadly.

Rapidash slowly and weakly trotted along and Owen leaned his head on my back as he slumbered. I smiled to myself at the thought of him snoozing against my shoulder. The moon glistened dimly now as a thin layer of haze covered it. My eyes slowly tried to shut but I snapped my head back waking myself up. A sudden brisk wind blew over my shoulders and caused me to quiver disturbing Owen from his sleep.

"Hey sleeping beauty," I joked but he just smiled with a dopey, weary look on his face.

We came to a stop at a cliff that over looked the beautiful sight of Fuscia City. The city lights sparkled in the night and the giant P lit in the distance brightened our spirits. We were all exhausted, so we set up camp for the night and went to sleep.


	42. Pokemon Contest: Round one

Chapter 42

"We're finally here in Fuscia City!" I said happily and stretched my arms up in the morning sun. "It's nice to be in some civilized area once again,"

We walked along the side walk of the small city that was filled with plenty to do. People with cheerful faces walked past us and waved hello. Small shops coasted the side walks and cute neighborhoods branched off the roads. I turned my head in each direction looking for the gym. I had heard that the gym was hidden far in the forest, but it couldn't hurt to look.

"Kylie!?" I heard a voice squeal from behind. I turned around to see Penny running towards me with her arms out. She charged towards me gleefully and attacked me with a giant bear hug.

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's you Kylie! I have so much to tell you! Oh my goodness this is so exciting!" she rambled excitingly as she squeezed me tightly.

"Okay, I can't breathe," I laughed as I tried to gasp for air.

"Sorry," she exhaled trying to calm herself down and released me from her clutches. "You look… terrible," she said to me not worrying if it'd hurt my feelings.

"Thanks," I chuckled sarcastically.

"So are you here for the contest!? I am so excited! I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun! So are you? Are you!? Are you!?" she jumped up and down in excitement.

"No, I'm here to challenge the gym leader," I told her.

"Well you're not ganna find it here, I heard it's some where out in the woods or something," Penny told me, but I had already known this.

"Wait, you haven't beaten them yet?" I asked her having my hopes rise. If she hasn't beaten the gym leader yet that means I've caught up!

"Nope, but I'm going to. But I really want to enter the contest! Please enter the contest with me!" she begged.

"What's a contest?" Owen asked sounding some what interested.

"It's when you show off your pokemon to judges. The main idea is trying to make them look good during a battle," Penny explained.

"That sounds awesome!" I commented. "Now I want to enter!"

"What about you Owen, are you going to enter the contest? No harm no foul," Penny asked trying to convince the stubborn boy.

"Sounds dumb," he turned away and scoffed.

"C'mon Owen you have to!" Penny popped up in front of him and pleaded.

"I'm not going to make one of my pokemon look like some frilly show case to some people that don't even have an effect on me," Owen refused tenaciously.

"You're just not man enough…" I whispered to myself and Penny giggled.

"What was that?" he turned towards me and glared angrily.

"Oh nothing," I chortled.

"I bet I could beat you," he folded his arms confidently.

"Oh please," I rolled my eyes.

"So you'll do it!?" Penny gasped delightfully.

"Where's the registration desk?" Owen asked, implying he was going to enter.

"Over there," Penny pointed to a large building down the street. It was a giant, chrome colored, dome that was the tallest building in the city and I was surprised I hadn't caught my eye before. It was ten times bigger then any pokemon center and even bigger then all the gyms I've seen. The red roof over hung on top of the large amount of steps that lead up the automatic, sliding glass, doors. Elegant flowers and bushes cut into different legendary pokemon surrounded the small court yard in front of the large building. Two giant bushes shaped like Lugia and Ho-oh greeted us at the front gate. We raced to the front door and dashed up to the registration desk. But a long line stopped us in our tracks.

"Hey get back in line!" a boy with black hair yelled at us, and looked some what familiar. A small, purple, rat-like pokemon sat on his shoulder and hissed at us.

"Sorry," I apologized with an annoyed tone and sulked to the back of the line. Penny hopped up and down trying to look over the peoples' heads.

"This is going to take forever!" Penny sighed disappointed. "Speed it up you Slowpokes! Stand in one spot too long and you'll turn into statues! You sleeping Snorelax!" Penny shouted loudly.

"Penny! Shut up!" I muttered through my teeth.

"Hey! We're moving as fast as we can!" the boy that looked familiar shouted aggravated.

"Yeah, so just calm down you little brat!" an older man yelled.

"Who called me a brat!?" Penny asked stepping out of line to see the culprit, as she punched the air like she was ready to challenge him to a boxing match.

"I did," a large man stepped forward and towered over Penny.

"Ummm, sorry to disturb you sir," she gulped as she cowered down in fear.

"Just stand still for Ho-oh's sake," Owen told Penny annoyed. "The contest isn't going to start any sooner the more noise you make,"

The line moved along slowly and Penny grew more and more impatient, and we grew more and more annoyed with her constant foot tapping. Finally, we were just about to register. The familiar looking boy was up at the counter and handed the women at the front desk his red pokedex. Penny explained to us they register you by taking your pokedex and that makes it so you can participate in any contest around the region. If you don't have a pokedex, you have to get registered with an available ID. Luckily, Owen had his KPFT ID card on him, so we were hoping that would work.

"Thanks for taking so long," Penny seethed while the boy walked by. His black hair covered his face as he looked down at his registered pokedex proudly, but that smile quickly turned to a frown.

"Well excuse me princess!" the boy looked up and spat in Penny's face. His Rattata gave Penny an evil glare for yelling at her trainer.

"Jackson?" I asked the boy unsure if it was him.

"Kylie! Owen! Great to see you guys!" Jackson said with the familiar voice that rung a bell.

"Great to see you!" I told him. "Is that your Rattata?"

"Yupe, Rattata here was my first pokemon I ever caught," Jackson smiled to his small normal type pokemon.

"So you're a Coordinator now?" I asked.

"I thought I would just check it out," Jackson smiled back, "Do you know her?" he whispered to me.

"Yeah…" I sighed and couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry she's been so rude to you," I apologized for her.

"No need to apologize," he guaranteed me.

"Good, because I don't apologize," Penny scowled.

"So I'm assuming you're entering the contest as well?" Jackson asked Penny.

"You better believe it," Penny said confidently.

"I look forward to kicking your butt," Jackson sneered then walked away and his Rattata raced after him to catch up.

"Ugh, the nerve of that kid, what a jerk," Penny clenched her fist tightly in anger, then turned to the counter and handed the woman her pokedex.

"Hello," the woman smiled brightly. She had short brown her that dangled around her ears. Her orange jumper looked good with the red lipstick she wore and on her ears were a pair of expensive looking pearls.

"This is your first contest I'm assuming?" she asked politely.

"Yes ma'am," Penny answered trying to sound happy.

"Well good luck," the woman beamed as she slide Penny's pokedex into a slot in the computer. Penny's picture popped up on the computer screen and a large, green check appeared on the screen.

"You are all set," the woman took the pokedex out of the computer and handed it back to her.

"Hello, how are you both doing today?" she asked me and Owen as Penny walked away.

"Fine," I answered.

"Great, registering for the first time?" she asked.

"Yupe," Owen and I answered in unison.

"I'll take your pokedex or ID," she put both her hands out to accept the objects. I placed my pokedex in her hand and Owen placed his ID in the other.

"This is a KPFT ID?" the woman questioned looking at his photo.

"Yeah, I hope that's ok?" Owen asked while crossing his fingers.

"Of course," she nodded.

She slid the objects into the computer and our pictures popped up with green check marks showing that we were all clear.

"Have a great day," the woman smiled as she handed back our pokedex and ID.

I turned around to see there was only one more person left in line to register. He was quite tall and had brown hair that was slicked back with gel. He wore a fancy, blue, stripped shirt and tan shorts to his knees. The more I looked at him the more he looked really familiar.

"Good day Kylie, fancy seeing you again," the boy smiled slyly.

"Austin, is that you?!" my heart fluttered as I said his name.

"Kylie my dear, you look as graceful as ever!" he complimented charmingly.

"Oh stop," I waved my hand at him modestly.

"Entering the contest I see?" he asked.

"You bet," I responded.

"I shall look for you on the stage then," he winked which made me giggle and blush. He stepped up and began registering with the woman at the counter.

"Have you ever been in a contest before this?" I asked Austin, creating conversation.

"This will be my first," he replied and accepted his pokedex from the woman. The lady got up and placed a sign that read "no more registrations for today," and walked away. I looked around for Penny and Jackson but they were no where in sight, probably went off to pick a fight.

"What pokemon are you planning on using?" Austin asked me with much interest.

"I'm not sure…" I peered down at my belt which held my five pokeballs. Then I pondered which one of my pokemon would be best in a contest. Then I wondered which pokemon Owen would choose to use, probably his Hitmonlee, he always uses that thing.

Charmander would be great since we have such a strong bond, he would probably understand everything I would ask him to do. However, Houndoom and I make a great team and he can make some pretty embers with his ember attack. Tododile could also be an option. With his water gun he could make the entire room sparkle. It was a tough choice.

"Well Kylie you should really get a capsule for whatever pokemon you use," Austin recommended strongly.

"Capsule?" I questioned not knowing what it was.

"Yes, it's a clear seal that surrounds your pokemon's pokeball," he demonstrated by placing a clear ball around one of his pokeballs. "Then when the pokeball opens you can have bubbles, stars, or even hearts pop out," Austin then threw the pokeball out in the middle of the room and his Scizor emerged from the red light and many sparkling stars twirled in the air and made his pokemon look dazzling.

"That's not gay at all," Owen muttered with a smirk across his face.

"Still traveling with this grunt I see," he nodded his head toward Owen.

"What did you call me, prissy boy?" Owen clenched his fists tightly. Austin just smirked devilishly then walked away.

"How can you stand that guy?" Owen asked me full of anger.

"He's just so charming!" I explained while dreaming about him.

"He's just so aggravating!" Owen mocked.

"You just wouldn't understand," I sighed.

"You're right… I don't understand why you are so stupid," Owen joked.

"Shut up, grunt!" I teased and the word grunt made Owen infuriated with rage once again.

Later in the day I found Owen sitting next to his Poliwag on a bench outside in the courtyard. A massive fountain with numerous water pokemon sculpted into the art work and a Lapras in the center spurting water from its mouth created a soothing sound that calmed my nerves.

"Hey," I said to Owen as I walked over.

"…Hey," he greeted back.

"Which pokemon are you going to use?" I asked him as I sat down next to him.

"I'm thinking about using Lickitung actually," he informed me and didn't look up from feeding his small water type pokemon.

"Really?" I asked stunned of his decision.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"_Poliwag_!" Poliwag jumped up and exclaimed happily. Poliwag then leaped into the water of the giant fountain. He danced on the edge of the pool then dove into the water. Owen and I raced over quickly to see if the baby pokemon was alright. Bubbles surfaced the water and all of the sudden Poliwag exploded from the water and the droplets of water glistened beautifully in the sun.

"Looks like Poliwag is trying to appeal to you Owen," I kidded.

"Poliwag I think you've had enough excitement for today," Owen chuckled and returned the toddler pokemon to its pokeball. The pokemon frowned disappointed as the red light retrieved it back inside.

We walked into the stadium where hundreds of people sat on the bleachers ready to cheer for their favorite Coordinator. I saw Penny and Jackson arguing on their way to back stage so Owen and I followed them. Back stage there stood Austin trying to calm Jackson down from Penny annoying him, and some other kids I've never met before. There was one girl that was really pretty. She wore a charcoal-grey dress over a white long sleeve blouse. Her brown hair was put up into two low pig-tails that twirled like banana curls. One of the two boys was rather cute. He had spiky, dark blue, hair that swooped in front of his grey-blue eyes and long, narrow face. He wore a black and white stripped polo with jeans and black, high top, converses. The other boy's face was covered in pimples and his tangled, brown hair covered his eyes. He wore a black sweatshirt and jeans and looked like he needed to shave or something. The other kids stood in a circle and talked while they waited for their name to be called.

Everyone gathered near the curtain ready to walk outside and see who would go first for the appeal round. I could hear a lady explaining to the crowd how the contest would work.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Fuscia City Pokemon Contest! Today sixteen Coordinators will try and prove to our three judges that their pokemon is the best! Going through each round, each trainer will have to make their pokemon of choice look appealing. In round one, each trainer will come on stage individually with their pokemon of choice and provide a move for the judges and try and look their best! After everyone has performed in round one we'll cut down the group of sixteen Coordinators to only eight. When round two, three, and the finals come along, the Coordinators will have the task of battling another Coordinator, the goal is to defeat the other pokemon and make there's look good!" the woman explained enthusiastically in the microphone. "Now let's welcome our judges! Give a round of applause Mr. Sukizo!" sitting at the judges table sat a short man with squinty eyes and a grey suit on.

"Delightful!" said Mr. Sukizo.

"Next say hello to Fuscia City Nurse Joy!" the announcer woman exclaimed.

"I'm excited to be here," Nurse Joy smiled warmly.

"And finally, our last judge, Mr. Contesta," the woman introduced.

"I wish all of you luck!" Mr. Contesta nodded solemnly.

"And I'm your host, Meredith. Let's get the show on the road!" Meredith waved her arms in the air then all sixteen of our pictures popped up on a computer screen. Out of all the people I knew, Owen was first on the list, then Penny, Jackson, Austin, then me, all the other kids fell in between.

"Looks like I'm last," I muttered to myself.

"Being last isn't so bad," said Jackson.

"Yeah, I know," I smiled.

"Looks like Owen is up first!" Meredith announced.

Owen stepped out onto the stage with a determined look flaming in his eyes. He grasped a shinny pokeball in his hands and tossed it out onto the stage dramatically shouting, "Show time Poliwag!" Owen's infant Poliwag exploded from its pokeball and bubbles shot every where making his pokemon look adorable and very appealing.

"And look at that entrance!" Meredith commented.

"Very nice," Nurse Joy complimented.

"Delightful showmanship!" Mr. Sukizo added in.

"Poliwag use bubble, then tail whip!" Owen ordered.

Poliwag launched up into the air and shot hundreds of bubbles out of his mouth, then twirled in a circle and popped all of the bubbles with his tail. The water droplets sparkled and left the audience in awe.

"I am quite impressed," Mr. Contesta nodded satisfied of Owen's performance.

"Great job, it can be difficult working with such a young pokemon," Nurse Joy added.

"Delightful," Mr. Sukizo smiled.

"Thank you Owen and his Poliwag! Next contestant is Perennial Passdastars! Welcome her everyone!" Meredith shouted energetically.

Owen gave the audience a friendly wave then ran off stage. Penny then ran out and closed her eyes holding a pokeball up to her chin. She took a moment and the crowd became quiet. She lifted her head with a confident grin across her face then exclaimed, "Bulbasaur, show them your stuff!"

The pokeball Penny had tossed plopped onto the ground then leaves exploded from the pokeball and twirled like a tornado as Bulbasaur emerged confidently from the red light. Bulbasaur grinned as the audience clapped in amazement.

"The leaves really show off Bulbasaur's grass type moves," Nurse Joy complimented.

"Bulbasaur sure looks confident. And I always say a confident pokemon is a winning pokemon," Mr. Contesta quoted.

"Now Bulbasaur, use sunny day," Penny told him. Bulbasaur then looked up at the ceiling and before we knew it a bright shine of light flashed within the giant stadium. Beautiful sparkles of sunlight rained down and Penny smiled pleased with her pokemon's work

"Nice work buddy, now use petal dance!" Penny cried. Bulbasaur next shot small, pink flowers from the bud opening on his back. They floated spectacularly in the air with the glowing specks of sunlight and the judges jaws dropped in pure delight.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo sung.

"What a beautiful display!" said Nurse Joy with a kind smile.

"Using Bulbasaur's sunlight controlling abilities to make his other grass type moves look more elegant is how a real Coordinator thinks," Mr. Contesta commented.

"Give a round of applause to Perennial and her star Bulbasaur!" Meredith proclaimed.

The crowd cheered as Penny and her Bulbasaur jogged behind the curtain. The girl in the grey dress went next with her Azuril and the judges really liked their performance. Two other kids went and both of their pokemon lost their balance on stage and it didn't go over well with the judges. Jackson was next and he slowly strutted out to the front of the stage. His Rattata sat on his shoulder adorably then leaped onto the stage ready to make some magic. I wasn't sure if Jackson was the type to do well, but you never know.

"Everyone please welcome our next contestant, Jackson!" Meredith's voice echoed and the crowd clapped.

"Rattata use attract," Jackson told her. Rattata then pranced out to the center of the stage and twirled while hearts floated away from her and splashed the audience, making them fall in love with Rattata, it was quite adorable.

"Your Rattata is just lovely," Nurse Joy folded her hands as she watched the normal type pokemon stand on its front paws like a handstand.

"Indeed, it is very appealing," Mr. Contesta nodded in agreement.

"This performance was delightful!" Mr. Sukizo said.

"Great job you two!" Meredith added in. Three more other kids went after Jackson. One did absolutely horrible confessing she had not planned any moves for her Chansey to perform, and the other two did ok. However, Austin was up next, and I knew he had something great planned.

"Next up is Austin!" Meredith shouted into her microphone energetically. Austin then slowly jogged out on stage and stood straight up with a pokeball in his hand. I noticed the pokeball had a large scratch running down the side, but that didn't distract anyone from his Scizor's amazing entrance.

"Scizor, time to play!" Austin cried as he chucked his pokeball. Stars sparkled in the background as Siczor clamped his large claws together.

"Now this is entertainment!" Mr. Contesta smiled thrilled with Scizor's entrance.

"This pokemon sure looks intimidating," Mr. Sukizo commented. "In a good way," he added in.

"Scizor start things off with night slash!" Austin shouted. Scizor then launched into the air and swiped it numerous times with its claws. Each time his claw cut through the air a small swipe of darkness would appear and soon the entire stage was filled with darkness.

"Peer through with leer," Austin snickered mysteriously. Suddenly, a pair of giant, yellow eyes glared through the darkness of the night slash and stunned the audience.

"How terrifying!" Nurse Joy shook as the two yellow eyes almost petrified her.

"Say good morning and use defog!" Austin yelled to his Scizor and formed a fist with his hand eagerly.

Scizor flew up into the air and with one swift move with his arms the shade of darkness disappeared and blew away like sand being tossed up in a desert. The audience cheered extremely loud for Austin and Scizor's performance and the judges presented Austin with a standing ovation.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo wiped the tears of joy from his eye.

"By far the best show today!" Mr. Contesta gave an admiring comment.

"We look forward to all your future work to come!" Nurse Joy told them.

Austin returned Scizor to his pokeball and walked off stage like he hadn't even publicized that astounding performance. I couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to do. I still didn't even know what pokemon I was going to use. Rapidash had amazing speed that could really go over well with the judges, and Growlithe knows flamethrower which could come in handy, it was a really tough decision that I had to make soon!

After that amazing performance no one had the confidence to do any better, but I wasn't going to let it suck my dignity away. Next up was the cute boy that I had noticed earlier back stage. He actually did pretty well to follow up Austin's performance. He used a Skymory and its steel type moves brought variety to the contest and the judges really liked the use of space in his display. Another four kids went and they all couldn't even compare to Jackson, Penny, or Owen, then the pimple infested kid flaunted out onto stage. He stood there with a dopey look on his face. I think he was trying to look cool and determined but he just looked constipated.

The boy took a lot of time getting every precise move done to make his over all show case work. Finally, he and his Nuzleaf had finally drawn a pokeball on the stage using bullet seed and the judges were quite impressed with his creativity.

I was up next, and last. My heart pounded and my calf muscles began to ache and I felt like I couldn't walk out onto stage when they had finally called my name. Thoughts raced through my head, first I had to tell myself to take a few steps and get out there. Meredith called for me once again and finally I walked out there sweating like a pig and looking stiff as a robot. My next thought was what pokemon I should use. At this point I should have decided. I looked back to behind stage to see Owen peeking his head out to see what I had done so far, which was nothing. But when I saw his easy smile it calmed me down and said to me that it would be alright.

I took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as I grasped a pokeball in my hand tightly. My mind has finally confirmed that this was going to be alright and no matter what pokemon I chose to use I'm sure they'd all do great. I clicked the small, grey button on the pokeball and enlarged it in my palm. I took in one more deep breath and smiled faintly to Owen and he smiled back.

"I choose you, Houndoom!" I shouted as I let Houndoom's pokeball release from my hand. The pokeball fell to the ground and Houndoom emerged from the red light.

"And the pokemon Kylie chooses is Houndoom, let's see what these two have planned!" Meredith waved her hands like Vana White.

"Houndoom use double team," I told him. Houndoom's body quickly flashed a white light then divided into several other identical copies of Houndoom that stood in a circle.

"Shadow ball, aim towards the middle!" I exclaimed. All the clones of Houndoom then fired a large, black and purple ball at the center of the circle and all of the shadow balls collided creating a blaze of darkness on the stage. Rays of black streamed from the large flame-like burst of obscurity and extended out towards that audience above their heads, making them scream in fear.

"It looks like Houndoom's shadow ball is back firing!" Meredith exclaimed as she ducked also.

"Oh no!" I cried as all the members of the audience ducked down from the firing beams that flew over their heads. After a couple more seconds of what seemed to be a never-ending shoot out, the beams stopped and everyone seemed unharmed.

"Good effort," said Mr. Sukizo.

"Well that was an interesting way to end the first round," Nurse Joy joked. "Besides from all the mishap, great job!"

"Be a little more careful next time. Otherwise, good work," Mr. Contesta chuckled.

"Watch out for Kylie and her Houndoom!" Meredith kidded. "We'll be right back with the results of round one of the Fuscia City Contest!" Meredith winked and flashed a peace sign to the cameras taping the contest.

"That didn't go so well," I murmured unfaithfully as I sulked backstage.

"I think you did great," Owen blushed. "You looked great,"

"Really?"

"I-" he began but got interrupted by Meredith who was revealing the surviving eight of the contest.

"And the eight contestants moving on to round two are…"


	43. Pokemon Contest: Round Two

Chapter 43

"And the eight contestants moving on to round two are…" Meredith gestured her arms towards a large computer screen that shuffled through all the pictures of the sixteen kids. Only eight slots were open and each one got filled with somebody's picture. I saw that Owen, Austin, Penny, and Jackson had made it round two, but for a split second I couldn't find my picture, but there it was, the very last one.

"Why am I always last?" I sighed.

"Because you're a loser," Penny teased and softly punched my arm jokingly.

"Not as big a loser as you," I fired back and laughed.

"Want to take this outside?!" Penny joked as she placed her hands on her hips sarcastically.

"The eight going on to round two are Owen, Perennial, Persynthia, Jackson, Austin, Liam, Oliver, and last but not least Kylie!" Meredith announced and the crowd cheered ferociously.

"Liam…" I muttered to myself as I gazed at the cute boy. He was happily talking to Persynthia about how they were relieved they had made it.

"Looks like someone has a little crush!" Penny sung teasingly.

"Dude, I don't even know him," I stuttered.

"You've been checking him out all day! Aww how cute! Kylie has a crush! Always thought something would happen between you and Owen. Love is strange I guess! I'm thirsty, are you thirsty? I'm thirsty!" Penny rambled then walked away to go find something to drink. I rolled my eyes and laughed at my odd friend.

"Well, isn't this grand Kylie? I hope you and I get to battle, that is something I look forward to someday," Austin said to me as he walked up.

"Me too," I smiled.

"Oh! They're pairing everyone up now!" Austin pointed to the screen as it flashed through everyone's pictures. Two slots were open this time and they were deciding at random who would be paired up with whom in the second round of appeal battling.

The pictures stopped to reveal Jackson and Penny were going to battle first. The glared at each other evilly as Meredith called them onto stage. Penny and Jackson didn't stop glaring until Meredith walked out onto the middle of the stage and began to explain the rules of appeal battles.

"One pokemon will be used by each trainer and there will be 5 minutes put on the clock for either trainer to defeat the other pokemon, or eliminate all the other trainer's appeal points. Each trainer starts off with a full circle of appeal points and they will decrease each time the opposite trainer hits your pokemon, or your pokemon does something very unappealing," Meredith explained. Jackson and Penny's pictures popped up on the computer screen and below each of their pictures was a yellow donut-shaped circle. In between their pictures was a digital clock that counted down from 5 minutes.

"Perennial and Jackson, step on stage and the battle will be underway! Don't forget the judges are still watching and grading your performances," Meredith reminded them. "Let the battle begin!" she shouted and the clock began to count down.

"Go Rattata!" Jackson pointed towards the battle field and Rattata jumped off his shoulder.

"Show them what you got Bulbasaur!" Penny once again threw her Bulbasaur's pokeball and once again Bulbasaur popped out with green leaves twirling about. The clock was ticking so the two trainer didn't hesitate to start the battle.

"Rattata, use hyper fang!" Jackson ordered. Rattata jumped high into the air and soared towards Bulbasaur with its fangs showing, trying to intimidate the much larger grass pokemon. Bulbasaur smirked at the pathetic looking Rattata that only stood up to the pokemon's knees.

Penny quickly reacted and cried, "Bulbasaur use leech seed!"

Bulbasaur hit Rattata with a small, brown, seed while she still soared in mid-air. The tiny seed then sprouted into long, tangled, green vines that wrapped around the small, purple, rat. The vines sucked the energy out of the Rattata and she squealed in pain.

"Rattata, use double edge to release yourself from the vines!" Jackson told her. Rattata then began to glow a bright, snow white and the vines desecrated right off Rattata's body.

"That was amazing!" Mr. Sukizo said in awe.

"Way to use Rattata's special move to rid of Bulbasaur's special move," Mr. Contesta noted intelligently.

Penny grew angry as she saw her appeal points lower and Jackson had more appeal points then her.

"Rattata, use bite!" Jackson commanded rapidly, seeing an opportunity where Penny wasn't paying close attention. Since Rattata was only about two feet away from Bulbasaur, it quickly ran by the grass pokemon and bit down on its leg. Bulbasaur screeched in agony while a little more of Penny's appeal points got taken away.

"Now roll into a hand stand!" Jackson called to his Rattata. Rattata used his momentum to slide into a shoulder roll then miraculously land on her two, front paws.

"Wonderful!" Nurse Joy smiled in delight. "Not only did you weaken the opponent's pokemon, you turned it into a move to make your own pokemon look fantastic!" she added.

"Quick Bulbasaur, vine whip Rattata's legs!" Penny shouted. Two, long, forest green, vines extended swiftly from Bulbasaur's shoulders and whipped Rattata right on the knees, catching the small pokemon off balance and causing her to fall to the floor.

"Oh no!" Jackson blurted out as his appeal points lowered to about half full.

"Oh yes!" Penny exclaimed happily as she realized that he was only a little bit ahead of her now.

"One more minute on the clock!" Meredith proclaimed.

"Bulbasaur use razor leaf!" Penny yelled in excitement.

"Dodge it by lifting yourself up with your tail!" Jackson said swiftly.

Bulbasaur then shot sharp leaves at Rattata as it laid collapsed on the ground, but right before the razor sharp leaves were about to pierce the small rat pokemon's skin, it jumped up in the air pushing its tail against the ground.

"What?!" Penny gasped in shock.

"Great job Rattata, now use tackle!" Jackson told it. Rattata darted towards Bulbasaur at the speed of light, and couldn't been seen as it crashed its skull into the grass pokemon's stomach. Bulbasaur's knees wobbled until they gave out and he tumbled to the ground.

"Looks like with 10 seconds left on the clock, Bulbasaur is out of it!" Meredith assumed.

"Stay in this Bulbasaur, and throw Rattata using vine whip!" Penny grew worried when she saw her appeal points were almost gone.

Bulbasaur weakly got back on his feet and attempted to grab Rattata with his vines, but the quick thinking pokemon dug its teeth into one of the thick vines and Bulbasaur quickly withdrawal them back from the sudden pain.

Penny only had about an eighth of appeal points compared to Jackson and the clock flashed 0:00, which meant time was up. Penny's picture disappeared and Jackson's was left with the giant word "Winner!" next to it.

"Jackson from Celadon City is the winner!" Meredith declared and the crowd cheered. Penny recalled her weakened Bulbasaur and moped back to behind the curtain.

"You did awesome Rattata!" Jackson praised his small pokemon as he scratched under her chin.

"Looks like you got lucky," Penny scowled.

"Looks like I got skill," Jackson dusted the imaginary dirt off his shoulder.

"Oh please, that pathetic pimp squeak must be on steroids or something! It's so small! Isn't small Kylie? C'mon, you have to agree with me on this one and say there is no way that weak thing could have won!" Penny argued.

"Anything is possible," I shrugged.

"The next two trainers that will be facing each other are!" Meredith began to announce as the pictures flashed through all the possible combinations of battlers. The computer stopped to show Austin's picture in one slot and mine in the other.

"Kylie and Austin!" Meredith finished. "So stay tuned to see these two tough trainers rough it out through the second round!" she winked at the cameras that turned to chamerical.

"It looks like you and I will finally be battling one another," Austin walked over with his arms folded, he seemed very pleased and content. "Whoever wins, you will still be as beautiful and talented as ever," Austin flirted and handed me a single, red rose.

"Awww, this is so sweet, Austin, thank you!" I flushed and accepted the pretty flower.

"Anything for you, my darling," Austin winked then turned and walked away.

"No boys like me," Penny frowned.

"Well, I don't know about that," I smiled and looked over at Jackson who was standing alone by the curtain.

"Alright, we're back, and ready for Austin and Kylie to face off in the second appeal battle of round two! Come on out you guys!" Meredith waved us onto the stage and Austin and I jogged out to each opposite sides of the battle field.

"Good luck, Kylie," Austin granted me.

"Thanks, you too," I told him.

"Start that timer!" Meredith shouted enthusiastically. The timer then began to count down from five minutes, and right as it started, I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Knots twisted and turned inside me and I felt like I was going to barf.

"I have to ignore it," I whispered to myself and held my stomach.

"Scizor, come out and play!" Austin shouted as he pitched Scizor's scratched pokeball out onto the field. Scizor popped out with stars flying around him once again and the judges grew excited to see what Austin had in store.

I held Houndoom's pokeball in my hand and clutched it loosely with the tips of my fingers. I knew Houndoom had the advantage over a bug type pokemon, but I most defiantly didn't expect to win this battle. Although I didn't lose often, Austin was defiantly more experienced with Contest battles, and pokemon in general. I'm a beginner compared to him.

"We're waiting Kylie," Austin folded his arms and said teasingly.

"Well, here it comes!" I warned him. "Houndoom, show them all you've got!" I hurled his pokeball up into the air and out appeared Houndoom.

"Houndoom, eh?" Austin questioned with his eye brow raised. "No matter, we will still win," he grinned confidently.

"You keep telling yourself that," I joked.

"Scizor fly like a bird!" Austin commanded. Scizor then spread his insect-like wings and slowly elevated himself into the air.

"Use howl Houndoom," I said to my dark type pokemon. Houndoom opened his mouth and let out a ear-splitting, deep howl that shook the floor like thunder. Scizor and most of the audience members covered their ears and I quickly cried, "Use ember!" Houndoom then shot sparks of fire at the air-born bug type pokemon and each spark hit with great effect.

"Houndoom does have the advantage over Scizor, but we'll see," Meredith remarked as she watched the mêlée.

My hopes grew high when I looked over at the large computer screen to see Austin's appeal points were actually lower then mine!

"Scizor, use agility then slash!" Austin shouted. Suddenly, Scizor appeared right in front of Houndoom and drew his arm back ready to cut Houndoom right across the chest.

"Dodge!" I called out as fast as I could, but it was too late, Scizor had sliced Houndoom right across his chest. The yellow bar of my appeal points lowered to about half full and now I was below Austin.

"Fury cutter!" Austin ordered.

"Hit it with flamethrower!" I said immediately after. Houndoom began to store the energy he needed to aim the flamethrower in his mouth, but Scizor's fury cutter was too fast and they gashed Houndoom's skin rapidly after another.

"Hang in there Houndoom!" I encouraged.

"Marvelous work Scizor," Austin praised. "Now, end this, use metal claw!"

Scizor's claw began to glow white then coated itself with a shinning layer of metal, before I could warn Houndoom, who laid helplessly on the ground, Scizor bashed its hardened claw right on top of Houndoom's head. A large, swollen bump appeared on Houndoom's head and he laid there sprawled out and unconscious.

"Ouch, tough hit, and with a little less than 2 minutes left to go, it looks like Houndoom is unable to battle!" Meredith announced. "Austin, from Sunny Grove is the winner!" Meredith declared and the crowd stood up and cheered energetically.

"I am pleased to see Austin still emerged victorious after that scare in the beginning," Mr. Contesta stated.

"Great job to both of you," Mr. Sukizo nodded.

"Excellent communication with both of your pokemon," Nurse Joy added.

"I knew you would win," I said as I walked up to Austin.

"Nonsense, it was a pretty fair battle. I knew you would put up a good fight," he smiled. "After the contest is over, would you like to go out for some tea?" he asked.

"Um, I'm not sure," I looked away uncertain.

"It looks like Owen and Liam will be facing off next!" Meredith announced loudly in the microphone.

"We have to get backstage," I told him, hoping he'd forget any of that just happened.

Owen and the cute Liam kid walked out and began their battle but Austin wasn't giving up on this, so I couldn't pay attention to the battle.

"Listen Kylie, I understand if you and Owen have something going on, you don't have to be afraid to tell me," he sighed sadly.

"We don't! And I don't get why everyone thinks we do!" I threw my arms up in the air in frustration.

"Owen from Pewter City is victorious!" Meredith affirmed.

"Yes I won!" Owen jumped behind the curtain happily.

"Heck yeah!" I raised my hand in the air to give him a high five. He slapped his hand against mine and Penny and Jackson also walked over to congratulate him.

"Nice work," Jackson told him.

"Persynthia and Oswald are up next, right?" Penny asked us, but OLIVER over heard her.

"It's Oliver!" he corrected.

"Woops, my bad," she scratched her head embarrassed.

Persynthia and Oliver walked out on stage, and began their battle. Oliver's Nuzleaf was easily beaten by Persynthia's Azuril and fainted in just 2 minutes.

"Nuzleaf put up a good fight," Nurse Joy smiled warmly.

"I'm sure with some more practice you'll be able to become a great threat in up coming competitions," Mr. Contesta encouraged.

"Alright, when we come back, we'll be moving on to round three! Where we'll reveal which of the final four will battle whom! So don't touch that dial!" Meredith posed to the cameras.

-----

"And we're back!" said Meredith. "Say hello to your final four!" she waved her arms towards Austin, Jackson, Owen, and Persynthia, who all stood on center stage and waited for their next challenger.

"The next two trainers to face off will be…"


	44. Pokemon Contest: The Finals

Chapter 44

"The next two trainers to face off will be… Austin and Persynthia!"

The two tough trainers stepped onto stage and released their pokemon. The two battled it out neck and neck, they're points being almost the identical amount the entire five minutes. Persynthia's Azuril was smaller and would seem like a lousy match against Scizor, but Azuril's attacks were amazingly affective. However, Scizor was rapidly fast, so this battle came down to the wire.

"Thirty seconds left!" Meredith shook in excitement. At the last second, Scizor cut Azuril with a powerful furry swipe and made Persynthia's appeal points almost empty. The timer ran out and the person who ended up with the most appeal points was Austin, he won once again.

"Austin is once again, victorious!" Meredith declared. I looked over to see Owen with a stern look on his face. He didn't look happy about Austin winning that match.

"Great job Austin, you looked great!" Penny complimented him as he gallantly walked back stage.

"You don't look half bad yourself sugar," he winked.

"What a prick," Owen muttered.

"Who does he think he is?" Jackson asked Owen.

"A prick," Owen answered and Jackson laughed.

"Be nice you guys," I snarled through my teeth.

"So it looks like the only real men around here are facing off," Owen stretched his arms up and bragged.

"Us real men need to go out there and show them how real manly men battle," Jackson boasted jokingly along with Owen.

"Indeed, we do, good sir," Owen nodded and the two marched on the stage attempting to look like "manly men." Penny and I just laughed.

"The next two challengers, fighting for that spot in the finals, are Jackson and Owen! Five minutes on the clock… and go!" Meredith shouted.

"Show time, Poliwag!" Owen cried as he chucked the pokeball into the air. Once again Poliwag exploded from the pokeball and bubbles formed all around him.

"Your turn Rattata!" Jackson shouted and Rattata leaped into the air off his shoulder. The two pokemon landed on the ground at the same time then glared at one another, waiting for their master's commands.

"Rattata use hyper fang!" Jackson ordered. Rattata launched towards Poliwag and showing off its sharp fangs to Poliwag, trying to intimidate the infant pokemon.

"Dodge and use bubble beam!" Owen instructed. Poliwag smoothly moved out of the way of the oncoming attack, and caught Rattata off guard by hitting its backside with forceful bubbles.

"Great job Poliwag!" Owen told him happily.

"Don't give up Rattata, use scratch!" Jackson told her. Rattata quickly turned around and swung her paw near Poliwag, but missed. I looked over to see Jackson's appeal bar lower but Owen's was still completely full.

"Use hypnosis!" Owen shouted. Poliwag closed his eyes for a moment, and suddenly, purple sound waves bounced from Poliwag's swirl on his stomach to Rattata. Rattata looked around with a blank look and began to lose her balance. The Rattata then closed her eyes drowsily and slumbered off into a deep, hypnotic sleep.

"Snap out of it Rattata!" Jackson tried to help her, but the clock was ticking and his points were decreasing.

"Double-slap!" Owen immediately told the water type pokemon. Poliwag darted towards Rattata with his tail pulled back, ready to swing at the confused rat. Poliwag continually hit the normal type pokemon until the clock reached zero.

"Great battle you two," Nurse Joy smiled warmly.

"You and your Poliwag have a great bond," Mr. Contesta noted.

"Owen is the winner and will be moving onto the finals to face against Austin!" Meredith announced and everyone in the stadium cheered.

"Looks like someone has become quite the popular guy," I raised my eye brow at Owen.

"If you call total strangers clapping for me, yeah, I guess I am popular," he smirked.

"I'm sorry I let you down Rattata," Jackson sighed unhappily.

"Nonsense! You and Rattata did great," Penny disagreed.

"But I could've done better…" Jackson hung his head sadly.

"You guys did the best you could," Penny rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Thanks," Jackson smiled as he pet his tired Rattata.

"Those two are finally getting along," I said to Owen.

"It's about time," he replied.

"Alright folks, the moment we've all been eager to see! The finals of the Fuscia City Pokemon Contest! Owen and Austin will battle it out in one more appeal battle that will last another five minutes. These two boys will again have to impress the judges with their spiffy looking moves and brilliant strategies," Meredith posed for the cameras that focused on the announcer woman. "Now let's get those two champions out here!"

"Good luck," Austin politely said to Owen and reached his hand out for a courteous hand shake.

"I won't be needing it," Owen seethed as he ignored the hand gesture.

Owen slowly walked out on the stage and Austin followed behind him. Owen starred in Austin's direction with a fiery determination in his eyes. His stance was strong and I could tell he wasn't going to go easy in this battle.

"Prepare for trouble," Owen scowled.

"Don't tell me Team Rocket is here!" I sighed as I covered my face with my hands.

"They aren't!" he yelled annoyed at me.

"Start that timer!" Meredith hollered.

"Scizor, time to play!" Austin dramatically threw the shinny, red pokeball and Scizor popped out with stars once again circling him.

"Hitmonlee, it's show time!" Owen exclaimed as he pitched the pokeball like a baseball.

"A surprising turn of events, Owen has decided to use his Hitmonlee in this match," Meredith explained to the viewers.

"Scizor, use focus energy!" Austin yelled. Scizor pulled his claw back as it began to glow and take in energy.

"Rolling kick!" Owen commanded. Hitmonlee charged towards Scizor spinning his right leg in a circle while Scizor still charged up with focus energy.

"Now clobber him with metal claw!" Austin jumped and punched the air with his fist. Unexpectingly, Scizor bashed his claw onto Hitmonlee's head with great impact. Hitmonlee winced in pain but didn't show any signs of weakness by letting out a cry.

"Stick in this Hitmonlee! Trip him!" Owen told him. Hitmonlee rapidly swung his leg underneath Scizor's and tripped the bug pokemon. Scizor fell to the ground with a loud thump and shook the stage.

"Uh oh, Scizor falls to the floor!" declared Meredith.

"This battle is getting better and better!" commented Nurse Joy in excitement. I looked up at the large computer screen to see Owen wasn't that far behind Austin in appeal points.

"Use brick break Hitmonlee!" Owen called to his fighting pokemon.

Hitmonlee's small nub of an arm began to glow and he punched Scizor right on the shoulder blade. Scizor cringed as Hitmonlee took a step back from the steel type pokemon. Austin's appeal bar lowered to just a little lower then Owen's, Owen was in the lead!

"Trip Hitmonlee, then fly up into the air!" Austin yelled as he pointed to the ceiling. Scizor quickly wrapped his legs around Hitmonlee's causing him to lose his balance and to the stage floor. Owen's appeal points dropped as Scizor gradually flew up into the air.

"Two more minutes left on the clock!" Meredith reminded the Coordinators.

"Razor wind that blob of fat!" Austin exclaimed with a devilish smile. Scizor flapped his wigs vigorously, two razor sharp leaves flew through the wind and slashed Hitmonlee on both of his hips.

"Hang in there Hitmonlee!" Owen told him. But the wounds were oozing and Hitmonlee couldn't stand on his feet from the pain of the open cuts.

"Thirty seconds left," I muttered.

"Furry cutter!" ordered Austin. Scizor zipped next to Hitmonlee who still held his gash in agony.

"Suck it up and kick that shit!" Owen screamed in frustration. Hitmonlee suddenly burned with determination as he swung his leg and hit Scizor right in the stomach. Scizor skidded across the floor and lay motionless. Hitmonlee then tumbled to the ground and also lay motionless.

"What a powerful kick! But it looks like Hitmonlee couldn't stand it any longer," Meredith commented as the clock reached zero. "And that's it! Time is up and the winner of the Fuscia City Contest, and this beautiful ribbon is… Austin!" The audience went crazy as Austin and Scizor stepped up on the winner podium. Meredith placed a gold medal around Scizor's neck and Austin received the small, orange ribbon from the broadcaster woman.

"Give another hand for our new, upcoming Coordinator you should you look out for, Austin!" Meredith shouted enthusiastically as the audience cheered loudly and stomped on the bleachers.

"People have taking a liking to you," I laughed.

"I've taken a liking for the people too," he smiled flirtatiously and made me blush. "Have you changed your mind about the tea?" he asked as he jumped down from the box.

"Umm," I looked away uncertain.

"Let's take a walk," he suggested.

We ended up outside in the courtyard sitting by the fountain. The sun was a couple hours away from setting and it was quite warm out so wild pokemon pranced in the grass near by. Pidgey flocked near an old woman with a bag of bird feed and a group of older kids teased a wild Mankey near by, I felt bad for it.

"The water is so warm," Austin said as he dipped his finger tips into the clear water in the fountain. Unexpectingly, he splashed a bit up on my leg, and it wasn't warm either.

"You little jerk!" my jaw dropped in shock but it made me laugh. I then splashed him back and it turned into a water fight until Penny and Jackson walked up to us.

"What's going on here?" Penny asked with her eye brow raised suspicious.

"Nothing," I giggled and looked over at Austin who wiped the water off his hands onto his shorts.

"Sure," she replied cynically.

"Let's go find that gym," I got up and suggested as Owen walked up to the group, but he didn't look too happy.

"Someone's a sore loser, but you did lose pretty badly," Austin muttered mockingly.

"What did you say?" Owen stepped forward and asked angrily.

"Never mind," Austin chuckled teasingly.

"Oh boy," I sighed, knowing that Owen wasn't the type to take dirt from anybody.

"No, do tell," Owen sarcastically scratched his chin and acted like he was really interested.

"I would be mad too, the way you lost anyway," Austin shrugged.

"Cut it out, you beat him fair and square and Owen put up a great fight," I argued.

"Listen chief, we all know who would win in a REAL fight out here, so don't you even dare saying any crap about our battle!" Owen threatened and poked Austin's chest with extreme force.

"Calm down buddy," Austin put his hands on Owen's shoulders.

"One, get your hands off me!" Owen wiggled his hands off his shoulders, "Two, I'm not your buddy, so don't you ever call me that!" he shouted and gave Austin a tiny shove.

"Owen, calm down," I told him.

"Yeah, calm your hormones down," Austin joked.

"Stop," I snarled sternly at Austin.

"Let the rich, fancy, homo say what he has to say!" Owen began to yell furiously, causing everyone in the courtyard to stare at us.

"Dude, take it easy man," Jackson tried to calm his friend down but Owen was infuriated with rage and couldn't be controlled.

"Did you just call me gay!?" Austin began to shout too. Penny, Jackson, and I all backed away from the two boys, seeing that this was going to get ugly.

"Maybe I did!" Owen stepped forward and screamed in his ear.

"I'm obviously not gay if I got Kylie!" Austin fired back. "Maybe you're the gay one, you've been traveling with her all this time and you haven't even touched her!"

"I already have a girlfriend!" Owen protested.

"Poor, little, orphan boy, he has to make some girl up just to impress everyone," Austin snickered. "Maybe we should settle this in another pokemon battle!"

"I'll give you a fucking battle!" Owen exclaimed then punched Austin right in the face!

"Alright you two, you've taken this far enough!" I stepped between the boys and separated them with my arms, Austin was just got back on his feet and held his cheek which had become swollen and bruised.

"No, I don't think we have!" Austin then swung his arm to punch Owen back, but Owen caught his fist then jabbed Austin right in the stomach.

"Take that prissy boy," Owen smirked pleased with himself.

"Stop it you guys! Why are you even fighting!?" Penny cried and covered her eyes.

"Take this grunt!" Austin attempted to punch Owen in the face once again, but Owen blocked his strike and stabbed his pointy elbow in the center of Austin's back. Next Owen swung his leg rapidly into Austin's ankles, making him fall to the ground with a loud thump. A crowd gathered near the fight and some young teenage boys began to chant, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

"Shut up!" Penny snapped at the boys.

"Give him the left!" one boy shouted to Austin. Austin stumbled towards Owen and threw his fist at Owen without much force, he easily dodge the attack and gave Austin a couple hits to the hips.

"No your other left!" the same boy yelled.

"You're not helping," I seethed but the dopey group of boys just smiled innocently.

"So, I guess I was right," Owen panted then smiled.

"I'm just tired from winning all those pokemon battles, that's where it counts," Austin gasped for air and placed his hands on his knees. "You can hope all you want you homeless grunt, but I will always be better then you," he smiled devilishly. Owen, engorged in wrath, charged at Austin and tackled him to the ground, then continually punched the boy in the face.

"Break it up! Break it up!" one of the many Officer Jenny's came over and pulled Owen off Austin who was now bleeding endlessly from his nose and mouth.

"Yeah, blonde kid wins!" one of the ignorant boys shouted happily. "Hand it over," he put his hand out to the boy next to him who placed some money on his empty palm. Officer Jenny began to drag Owen away from Austin while Penny and another police officer helped Austin off the ground. As Owen turned to exit the premises all of the sudden, Austin punched Owen off guard and split his lip open.

The cluster of teenage boys let out a sympathetic moan as Owen stumbled on his feet.

"C'mon, we're going!" I finally put an end to the mess. I put my arm around Owen's shoulder and helped the limping boy walk. "And you can forget about that cup of tea," I snarled to Austin looking back over my shoulder.

Not too long after, Austin, Penny, and Jackson had disappeared, and I had Owen sit on a bench as I cleaned him up after the gory fight.

"Owen, why do you have to be so stubborn?" I asked him, but he didn't answer, he just starred off into space. I dabbed a wet cloth against his busted lip which made him cringe.

"Sorry," I said softly and continued to hold it there to soak the blood. "And I'm sorry about Austin… that jerk isn't a true friend if he beat up another one of mine… you're a lot more important to me then Austin is…" I told him sincerely.

I took a bandage from my messenger bag and pealed the white, sticky paper off the bottom of it. I lifted the cloth from his lip which was dried with dark, red blood, then I cautiously placed the bandage over his cut.

"Let's just forget about it," I murmured.

Owen spat out blood then wheezed, "I'm never letting that guy beat me again!"

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed these few Contest chapters! I've never written about a Contest before so review and tell me how you think I did! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more PSJ. :D**


	45. A PSJ Christmas

Chapter 45

**A/N: Welcome to a PSJ Holiday Special! Sorry it's so late but I've obviously been very busy. I still hope you enjoy this chapter and maybe it'll remind you of the awesome holiday season you had! For those of you who watch avatar this is sort of like the tales of ba sing se. Enjoy:D**

The Tale of Kylie

"So what are you planning on getting Owen for Christmas?" Penny asked Kylie as they walked down the streets of Fuscia City. It was a chilly afternoon and the bracing wind brushed over their shoulders as they discussed the upcoming holiday.

"I wasn't going to get him anything," Kylie admitted to her friend.

"WHAT?! You have to get Owen something! After all, you've been traveling with him for how long?" Penny ranted.

"Almost seven months…" Kylie answered. Penny led Kylie into a small shop that lay aside the road. The streets were empty and the only sound heard was the crisp wind blowing against the leaves of the trees. A small bell that hung above the door rang as the two girls entered the small souvenir shop. Penny immediately began to poke around looking at all the knick-knacks that covered the walls. Kylie was hesitant and still pondered the thought of what to get her dear friend Owen.

"I have no idea what to get him," Kylie said coming up with excuses. "Plus, we need to spend our money on stuff we really need, like food and supplies," Kylie told her.

"Christmas time is the perfect time to show people how you feel," Penny wrapped her arm around Kylie's shoulder who looked the other way and blushed.

"How about this teddy bear?" Penny suggested this brown bear with a light red heart on its stomach. Its eyes were missing and the nose was a tiny black button that held on by a thread.

"Owen would just use that as target practice," Kylie laughed then imagined Owen and Hitmonlee kicking the teddy bear for practice.

"What about this snow globe of Fuscia City?" Penny stuck the rinky-dink plastic toy in front of Kylie's nose causing her to go cross eyed.

"I don't think so," Kylie softly pushed the cheap collector's item away from her.

"Would he like this whistle?" Penny asked holding up a small whistle shaped like a Lapras. Penny inhaled a large amount of air then blew into the whistle with all her might. The store clerk glared angrily at Penny since was scaring his Bidoof that was curled up on the floor.

"If you get separated he'll always be able to find you," Penny explained.

"I don't think we plan on splitting up any time soon," Kylie told her and continued to browse the shop.

"Oh my god! This is perfect!" Penny shouted and hoped over to Kylie very excited. She held a small bib that read "Daddy's girl" in pink, curvy letters. The two girls shared a laugh and continued to browse around.

"Then what are you going to get him?" Penny asked anxiously.

"I told you, I'm not sure," Kylie admitted and scratched her chin in thought. "But I want it to be special,"

Penny snapped her fingers as an imaginary light bulb went off above her head, "Then you should get him something engraved like with the date and stuff or something. So if you guys go your separate ways then he can always remember you," suggested Penny.

"We can't afford to engrave anything, that would be nice though," said Kylie. "And why do you keep saying 'if we go our separate ways'?" Penny shrugged.

Penny leaned back assuming there was a counter that she could lean against so she could think of what Kylie should get Owen, but instead there was a coat rack standing there covered in dusty, old jackets. The coat rack fell over and hit a self that held many toy cars that slid off the edge and landed on a mouse trap on the ground. The mouse trap flung into the air and crashed into a glass display case. Penny attempted to smile innocently looking around at the destroyed shop.

"I am so sorry sir," Kylie apologized and bit her bottom lip in fear.

"GET OUT OF MY SHOP!" the man screamed waking up his Bidoof. The teenage girls frantically sprinted out of the store and didn't stop running until they arrived at another small store that looked like the perfect place.

"This place looks good," Penny commented and began to gaze in at the jewelry in the glass display cases surrounding the room. "How about a nice watch?"

Kylie looked down at her wrist and poked at her broken, orange watch. She had remembered they never knew what time it was because her watch was broken, if she gave Owen a watch at least one of them would know what time it is.

"How much does it cost to engrave something on the back of one of these watches?" Penny asked the young girl that chewed bubble gum and read a magazine behind the counter.

"Dunno," she replied without a care.

"Well your job as the cashier is to know how much it cost," Penny gritted her teeth annoyed.

"I told you, I dunno!" the girl screamed angrily.

"Look at this one Penny," Kylie waved her over to a bulky men's watch. It was sparkling new and its silver exterior shinned brightly through the finger print covered display case.

"Can we see this one please?" Kylie asked politely. The teenage girl lazily got off the stool she sat on and slammed the watch down on the counter, then carelessly walked back to her stool.

Kylie flipped the watch over in her hand and rubbed her thumb against the smooth back. Kylie then spotted small letters engraved on its back and read them out loud, "915?"

"Probably just the product number or something," Penny shrugged.

"Excuse me miss, but do you know what this 915 thing is?" Kylie asked the girl politely.

"No idea," the girl snarled without even looking up from her reading.

"915! 915!" a raspy voice shouted. Kylie and Penny turned to see an old man rocking on a rocking chair in the corner of the store. His wrinkles drooped down his face and his old ratty clothes drapped over the sides of the creeking chair. He stared out the window with a blank look as he began to rock back and forth even faster.

"Do you know what it means?" Penny asked the old man.

"The place of principle will have its darkest of nights! The journey will end but the love will continue!" the man shouted with a shakey voice.

"What the hell does that mean!?" Penny asked Kylie angrily.

"Is it a metaphor?" Kylie asked the old man, but before he could respond he nodded off to sleep.

"Probably just a stroke or something," Penny joked.

"How much?" Kylie asked the young girl who starred at her magazine.

"Dunno, twenty?" she shrugged and blew a bubble with her gum.

Kylie placed twenty dollar bill on the counter then exited the store. Later that day Kylie finally found Owen wandering the streets. The excited girl quickly ran towards the boy who had not spotted her yet. Kylie surprised Owen by poking him on the shoulder and causing him to jump a little bit.

"Did I scare you?" Kylie laughed and hid a small wrapped box with a bow on it behind her back.

"Psh no," Owen coughed.

"Sure, well anyway, I got you something," Kylie smiled from ear to ear and handed Owen his present. "Merry Christmas,"

"Thanks, but I didn't get you anything," he admitted and scratched his head embarrassed.

"That's alright, just open it," Kylie shoved the present in his face, she couldn't wait any longer! Without hesitation Owen ripped the shinny wrapping paper off the small box and let it fall to the ground beneath them. He then opened the white box and threw the lid behind him. Owen's adorable smile glistened as he picked up the sterling silver watch.

"Thanks Kylie, this is a wicked nice watch!" Owen complimented.

"So you like it!?" Kylie asked him.

"Yeah! It's awesome!" he told her sincerely.

"I'm glad you like it,"

"Now _one_ of us will know what time it is," Owen chuckled. "This means a lot,"

"Friends forever?" Kylie asked.

Owen nodded then gave Kylie a hug, "Friends forever."

The Tale of Owen

"What a beautiful day, huh Owen?" Kylie stretched her arms up in the morning sun.

"Yeah," Owen agreed happily.

The two travelers strolled along a dirt path in the middle of the woods, searching for the mysterious Fuscia City Gym. The sun shinned down and warmed the young trainers' faces as they chatted happily with one another. Bird pokemon chirped songs together and bug pokemon crawled up the tallest of trees to over look the lush forest.

"You there!" a random voice called near by. Owen and Kylie turned there heads in each direction scanning the wooded area for the source of the voice. A young man ran towards them and he was dressed like he was hiking in the safari. He pushed his thick cork glasses back up on his round nose once he reached the two teenagers.

"Where are you two kids heading?" he asked with great curiosity.

"We're heading to Fuscia G-" Kylie almost informed the stranger but Owen elbowed her in the stomach.

"What was that for?" Kylie whispered angrily.

"We don't even know this guy! Don't just go around telling strangers where we're going!" Owen muttered.

"Fuscia?" the man repeated.

"We're heading to… Cycling Road!" Owen brainstormed.

"Well, you're heading the wrong way," the man informed them. He then adjusted their shoulders to the other direction and told them, "This is the direction you'll want to be heading,"

"Thanks, we just got a little lost," Kylie went along with the act.

"No problem, and be careful, there is a large blizzard expected soon," he warned the two kids then ran off to warn others.

"Do you really think there is a snow storm coming?" Kylie asked Owen doubtfully.

"Psh, no, look at the sun! It couldn't be any sunnier!" Owen pointed out.

"True," Kylie murmured.

"Let's get going," Owen began to walk again.

Later in the afternoon, the sun had disappeared behind numerous storm clouds and the wind started to blow intensely. Kylie grasped her coat tightly around her as the wind continued to whip her hair in her face. Soon it began to rain and Owen and Kylie began to regret not listening to the man they had met before.

"This wasn't such a good idea!" Kylie shouted through the rain.

"Yeah, let's hid out under a tree for a while 'til it calms down," Owen suggested. The pair safely ran under the biggest oak tree they could find. The pokemon that had celebrated the glorious weather before now huddled together and shook in fear of the forceful winds.

"There is a pokemon center not too far from here," Owen pointed to the soggy map that was hard to keep flat. "We should stay there for the night,"

"Ok," Kylie nodded and agreed. "I can't see a thing!" Kylie complained once they started walking through the never ending down pour.

"Take my hand, I'll lead the way," Owen grabbed Kylie's cold hand and pulled her through the forest. The temperature began to drop and soon enough it was so cold that the rain froze to snow. Kylie's legs became numb with just her shorts on but Owen wasn't going to let them get stranded in a snow storm. Although they were a bit too busy to admit it, both of them treasured the fact they finally got to hold each other's hands.

Both of their spirits rose once they spotted the pokemon center in the distance. The two began to run towards the center that was in a clearing of the forest. However, once they reached the pokemon hospital, it didn't look as if it was in business.

"It doesn't look as if anybody is home," Kylie remarked as she gazed through a window. The furniture was tossed around and boxes were piled from floor to ceiling. All the lights were shattered or burned out and spider webs dangled everywhere.

Owen used all his strength to get the heavy sliding glass doors to open. The duo stepped inside the freezing cold pokemon center and quickly closed the doors. The snow had reached up to their mid calf and Owen knew they would be snowed in for the rest of the night.

"Looks like we'll be here for a while," said Owen as he climbed over some boxes to reach the front counter. Kylie didn't think that was so bad.

"This is so sad, why would they just abandon a pokemon center like this?" Kylie asked.

"Probably didn't get many visitors out here, looked like someone robbed all their supplies too," Owen noted as he explored all the rooms that branched off the hallway.

"It's so cold in here," Kylie shivered. "Did you find any food?"

"No, it's all gone, but we'll be leaving first thing in the morning,"

"Let's go back in the storage room and see if we can find some blankets,"

"Good idea," Owen agreed.

The two ventured back to the large storage closet which was infested with boxes. They started to open all the boxes hoping to find anything useful. Kylie leaped over a large tower of boxes and in the very back corner of the storage closet there was a fake Christmas tree the pokemon center must've put up every Christmas. The lights still dangled off its branches and a few ornaments hung while some others had broken onto the floor.

"Owen, come look at this!" Kylie called to him. Owen reached to the back of the storage room and the trainers gazed in awe at the coincidence of the Christmas tree being there on Christmas Eve.

"How perfect, I totally forgot that it was Christmas Eve!" Kylie smacked her forehead dumbly.

A strange glow sparkled above the teenagers' heads and they both looked up to see mistletoe dangling between them. They both smiled at one another and blushed, and without a word they let there lips meet each other for the perfect kiss. All of the sudden, a godly voice echoed in the room and the image of Kylie and Owen kissing faded out.

"OWEN! OWEN! OWEN WAKE UP!" Kylie shook the slumbering boy. Owen fluttered his eyes open to see Kylie leaning over him with a smile on her face. "You were dreaming," she told him.

"Then why'd you wake me up?" Owen grouchily turned over in his sleeping bag.

"Was it a good dream? What was it about?" she asked.

He just replied with a smile, "Oh, nothing,"

The Tale of Jackson and Penny

Jackson searched the local Fuscia City Pokemart for potions which he would need to stock up on for his journey. The numerous labels overshadowed his thoughts about his day and future days to come on his long trip.

When Penny spotted Jackson in her peripheral vision her shoulders became tense, she recognized that spiky black hair and red jacket anywhere. The girl ignored the boy and tried to focus on her shopping, but she sensed his presence close by. Finally, she casually walked up behind him and gave him a soft tap on the shoulder. Jackson leisurely turned around and glared intolerantly at Penny.

"Remember me?" she asked perkily.

"I don't think so," he responded bluntly and continued reading the description on the back of a potion bottle.

"Of course you do! We just battled each other in the contest the other day!" she tried to get the stubborn boy to remember, but he was refusing.

"You're the girl that never keeps her mouth shut," Jackson tapped in his chin in remembrance.

"Yes, that's correct," she admitted but glared back angrily.

Jackson turned back to the shelf and continued looking at the pokemon medicines.

"So," Penny scratched her head as an awkward silence came among them. "Catch any new pokemon?"

"No, I suck," Jackson answered negatively.

"Don't have to be so negative," Penny raised her eye brows while Jackson shoved the potions back on the shelf and headed for the door trying to flee from the nagging girl. "So it doesn't seem like you've had a fun night in a while. Why don't I take you out to dinner?" she friendly suggested.

"I'm not so sure," he replied.

"Are you sure? I know this great place around the corner!" Penny caught up to him outside the shop.

"I don't know," Jackson looked down uncertain of himself.

"Have you ever been on a date?" Penny asked folding her arms.

"That's not any of your business," Jackson pulled away stunned she asked such a personal question, but it was Penny after all.

"You can consider this your first," Penny smiled and laced her fingers through Jackson's then pulled him to the restaurant she had talked about. A skinny middle aged man with an apron on and brown frizzy hair seated them at a table for two. Jackson folded his arms stubbornly and didn't want to be there, but a part of him liked the fact Penny didn't give up.

"So what would you and your girlfriend like to order?" the waiter asked them with a friendly smile.

"She's not my girlfriend," Jackson snarled angrily at the man. "C'mon we're leaving!" Jackson grasped Penny's hand and tugged her out of the restaurant. The sun was glowing its last few rays for the day and a gentle wind blew past their ears.

"I'm sorry about that," Jackson apologized.

"It's ok, but there is one last thing I want you to see!" Penny blushed and ran into a dark ally that lead to a small courtyard and in the center of the cobble stone area was a large Christmas tree. Candles were placed on numerous branches and sparkling tinsel dangled beside the radiant candles. A golden star sat at the top and completed the picture perfect Christmas moment.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Penny asked and gazed in awe.

"I'm Jewish," Jackson told her.

"Oh, well, believe it or not, I had a really fun time with you tonight," Penny laughed and faced the teenage boy.

"I guess you're not so bad after all," Jackson avoided eye contact with the girl.

"I have a present for you," Penny became rosy and told Jackson to close his eyes. The boy followed her orders and shut his eyes waiting for her to give her gift. Penny leaned forward and puckered her lips slightly while closing her eyes. Right before she was about to land the kiss Jackson opened his eyes and took a large step back.

"I'm sorry, I…" Penny burned red with embarrassment.

"It's alright," Jackson assured her as he slowly began to tip-toe away.

"Where you going?" she asked.

"I have to go… to that thing at that place…" Jackson finally turned and began to speed walk far from the girl and the Christmas tree, but he couldn't help but smile.

**A/N: You may have noticed that PSJ has been very slow with updates lately and after this chapter, I sadly have to say that PSJ is going on a short hiatus. Please stay tuned for upcoming chapters, I promise this hiatus will not last long. Enjoy:D**


	46. Battle for the Soul Badge

Chapter 46

"You know what I've noticed?" I asked Owen as we wandered the woods looking for the hidden Fuscia City Gym. It was a cloudy day and it looked like it could rain anytime soon. A cold breeze blew past our ankles as the two of us slowly walked along.

"What?" Owen replied with a sigh thinking I was about to ramble off on something stupid.

"We haven't fought in a while," I pointed out.

"You're right, we haven't," Owen nodded his head in agreement realizing the truth of my statement. "That's going to have to end soon," he kidded.

"That won't be difficult with your lame comebacks," I laughed jokingly.

Suddenly, we heard a bustle in the bush near by. Owen and I stopped in our tracks and starred at the moving hedge, waiting for something to pop out. All of the sudden, two scruffy looking teenage boys jumped out with knives in their hands! My heart began to beat as fast as lightening as the two boys charged towards us both and put their blades up against our necks.

"What do you want!?" I shouted in a panic.

"Put the knives down!" Owen commanded.

I quickly memorized the faces of both the boys. One was rather short but very bulky and broad. He had a blue shirt on with a wide, brown afro like thing going on. The other was on the tall side with shoulder length blonde hair. He wore a greasy tan shirt and cargo shorts. Both boys looked tired and like they hadn't shaved in weeks.

"Cut me and you're a dead man!" Owen told them as he cautiously watched the knife almost slice the skin on his neck.

"Just give us your money!" the taller boy demanded frantically.

"Owen, what do we do?!" I asked him indecisively. Sweat began to pour down my face and I shook as if I was having a seizure.

"Just take the money and leave!" Owen told them snappily.

"Where is it, princess?" the kid with the afro asked me starting to get impatient. He lightly placed the blade on my neck. The pierce stung and sent chills down my spine. I didn't show any pain though.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Owen screamed at the boy who had cut my neck. He tried to charge towards him but the other boy restrained him from moving.

"It's in my bag, just take it and leave!" I told them fighting back tears of terror.

The taller boy that was holding Owen back, pushed him onto the ground and the both of them took my messenger bag from me like a street rat taking food. They searched through it for a moment until they finally found some of my money that I kept in one of the inside pockets. They also took all of our food and medical supplies.

"So are guys just some pathetic trainers that have no food or money? Ever think about asking your parents for some money before stealing it off some innocent people!?!" Owen asked them angrily as he stood back and watched the two scavengers take what they wanted.

"Don't you dare talk about our parents!" the afro kid warned. The boys placed everything they wanted in their shirts like a hammock then ran off into the woods.

"You better run!" Owen yelled to them as they disappeared with all my stuff. I kneeled down on the ground and tightly grasped my messenger bag strap, taking all my frustration out on the piece of fabric as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"What a bunch of low lives," Owen muttered. I peered into my bag and alls that was left was my wind breaker jacket, a photo of me and my parents, and oddly they left my pokedex safe and sound.

"Why didn't they take your bag?" I sniffled as I got off the ground and wiped away my tears.

"They knew I could take em'," Owen joked and made me let out a chuckle.

"Do you have any money?"

"I spent it all on supplies, _which_ they took,"

"Well this sucks, at least you have some food right?"

"I think so,"

"Let's get going, I just felt a drop of rain," I told him. We continued walking in silence and soon enough, we got lost. Tall grass tickled our knees and a light sprinkle of rain dampened our hair. We looked in all directions scanning for any place to just crash for the night, at this point I didn't even care about finding the gym. I couldn't take my mind off the robbery. Owen could tell I was preoccupied.

"Are you ok?" he asked concerned.

"It's just… we could've gotten hurt! They could have killed us if they wanted to!" I collapsed onto a rock and buried my face into my hands.

"I don't think they would have killed us just for all the crap they stole, maybe if we had some diamonds…" Owen tried to be funny but I was too distracted.

"I realized… it really isn't that safe out here! Here I am thinking it's a perfect world! Nothing bad could happen to us out in the wilderness! I mean, I never thought I could get hurt when I set out on my journey," I said as I rubbed the small gash on my neck.

"Really? I thought we would have been eaten or caught some fatal disease by now," Owen laughed.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Scorch," a voice evilly laughed. I looked up to see Zane standing confidently in front of us.

"Zane?" I questioned.

"The one and only," he smirked. "I see it doesn't take much for poor Kylie to take a break,"

"We just got mugged," Owen informed him.

"Oh, boo hoo," Zane rolled his eyes unsympathetically.

"So what brings you out here?" I questioned.

"Looking for the Fuscia City Gym, but I think I can take a pit stop to say hello to my good friend little Scorch," he snickered.

"Good friends are not the words I would use," I scowled.

"Do as you please little Scorch but there will always be one kid ahead, and that would be mua!" he pointed to himself egotistically.

"On second thought Owen, let's get going!" I hopped up and began to speed walk in the first direction my body pointed to, Zane closely followed behind.

"Can I help you?" I turned and asked him with a rude tone.

"Just so happens I'm heading in this same direction," he shrugged.

All of the sudden, the earth beneath us gave out and we all fell into a large ditch. Both of the boys crushed me as the dirt smeared in my face. Today was just not a good day.

"What the he-" Zane groaned in discomfort. The three of us tried to get back up on our feet but it was hard with three people trying to stand in an uneven hole. Suddenly, we heard three voices laugh evilly and Team Rocket poked their heads over the edge of the hole above us.

"Team Rocket!" Owen and I identified at the same time.

"Give us your pokemon or else!" James threatened with a mischievous smile.

"Or else what?" Zane questioned.

"Umm, actually, we didn't get that far into the thinking process," James admitted.

"Yeah, by now something has gone terribly wrong and we just blast off again," Meowth chuckled.

"I'll take care of them!" Zane assured us and tossed a pokeball towards Team Rocket. Out came a large, grey bird.

"Staravia, use gust to blow them away!" Zane told the pokemon. Staravia then spread its wings wide and flapped them vigorously. A miniature tornado formed and scooped up Team Rocket and sent them flying into the air.

"That's the part where we go terribly wrong," Meowth folded his arms contently.

"You idiot, this is not a time to be chum!" Jesse screamed.

"Then what time is it?" Meowth asked.

"Time for Team Rocket to be blasting off again!" the three crooks cried as they disappeared into the sky. The wind from Staravia's gust calmed down and Owen, Zane, and I climbed back up onto solid ground.

"So, I see your Starly evolved," I observed.

"Well, no duh," said Zane rudely.

We arrived at this large mansion with a blue roof. It was built like an old time Japanese dojo and a tall golden gate greeted us at the entrance.

"Could this be it? It doesn't look like any of the other gyms I've been to," I asked tentative.

"Let's check it out," Zane suggested then walked right into the building without knocking or anything.

"Hey Zane, you can't walk right into some strange building!" I shouted chasing after him. The three of us entered the mysterious mansion which was empty.

"Doesn't look as if anyone lives here," I thought aloud.

"Let's find whoever lives here and ask them if they know the way to the Fuscia Gym, I've been walking my ass off all day searching for it and I want to know where it is!" Zane folded his arms and was getting irritable.

"I agree," I nodded.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Owen shouted as we turned a corner. It brought us to a long, narrow hallway with dark, hard wood floors and no furniture. The only exit was at the end of the room where there were a flight of stairs. Then we all heard a thumping sound coming from upstairs.

"Hello!?" I screamed loudly so maybe they could hear me. "Someone must be home!" I snapped my fingers in delight. The thumping sound began to move the opposite way and was moving further away from us.

"We have to go catch them, let's move it!" I waved to boys as I began to run, but suddenly an electric shock was sent up through my body from the floor board. I collapsed to the floor and steam floated off my crispy body.

"What… the crap… was that?" I stuttered from the pain.

"A Voltorb?" Owen remarked. Oddly, there was a red and white thing with eyes sitting underneath the floor boards, and according to Owen it was a Voltorb.

_Voltorb has an extreme personality and uses electric attacks and at times can self-destruct, _Zane's pokedex informed us.

"Self-destruct?!" I gasped.

"Better leave it alone!" Owen suggested nervously.

"Are you kidding?! With an attack like that I defiantly need to catch it!" I told them optimistically, but the Voltorb began to grow furious and its body flashed red.

"It's ganna explode!" Zane exclaimed.

"Book it!" I scrambled to my feet and we dashed away as fast as we could before the pokemon self destructed. A loud boom echoed through out the house and the walls shook from the explosion. The three of us got knocked off our feet but thankfully we remained unharmed.

"Maybe we should leave. This place doesn't seem safe!" I shook in fright.

"C'mon, one little blast and Scorch is ganna wimp out?" Zane scoffed. "I don't know if you have the balls but I'm still going!" Zane directed towards Owen and jogged up the stairs.

We climbed up the wooden stairs to see another long, narrow hallway just like the one down stairs, and I saw a mysterious shadow turn the corner.

"Wait we need to find the Fuscia Gym!" I shouted as I began to chase after the strange figure, but I got stopped right in my tracks by an invisible force field! My face planted right into the clear wall and once again I collapsed to the floor.

"What the heck?" Owen said as he tapped the invisible wall in front of us.

"Oh, get up you weakling," Zane folded his arms heartlessly.

"Oww, my face," I muttered as I held my shattered nose.

"This place is crazy," Zane murmured to himself.

"Tell me about it, let's get out of here, no pokemon gym would have weird tricks like this," Owen pointed out. As soon as we turned around I walked straight into another invisible wall!

"Owww, my nose again!" I moaned as I wiped the dripping blood away.

"Looks like someone owned us pretty good," Zane closed his eyes and folded his arms like he knew everything.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"We stepped right in the middle of a trap! Let's just hope they aren't planning on stealing our pokemon,"

"They wouldn't do that would they!?" I gasped.

"You didn't think you would ever get a knife to your neck did you?" Owen reminded me and my mind replayed the scene of the robbery like a video tape.

"I guess…" I confessed. "I'M BUSTING OUT OF HERE! THEY CAN'T KEEP ME LOCKED UP FOREVER!" I screamed and waved my arms in the air like a lunatic.

"Charmander burn a hole through the wall!" I chucked his pokeball and right as he inhaled ready to use his flamethrower, Zane interrupted us.

"There's a door right there," Zane pointed and I collapsed to the floor humiliated in my own stupidity.

We entered the room which had wood paneling on the walls and dark, oak, hard wood floors. Some opened windows let the damp air drift inside and a gentle wind sent a chill down my legs.

"Another empty… mysterious… room," I stepped forward and the floor creaked loudly. Catching me by unexpected, my body was propelled into the air and I was hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"Another trap!?" I screamed in annoyance then pulled my shirt down so the boys wouldn't see my stomach.

"Pull up a chair Zane, crack open a pop, relax, and enjoy the show," Owen mockingly sighed as he and Zane pretended to tap their imaginary sodas together.

"You little-" I squealed filled with furry and humiliation, but just my luck the ceiling above gave out and I fell to the floor with a loud bang.

"Can this day get any worse!?" I screamed in frustration.

"What was that? Whose there!?" a random voice shouted.

"Mew," Zane answered sarcastically.

"Show yourself stranger!" the voice ordered.

"Show _your_self!" Owen called back.

"Born in darkness, living in darkness, such is fate of a ninja, I am Aya, ninja worrier!" a girl with a green ponytail and an electric, pink, ninja outfit recited.

"Pffft, there's actually some pathetic morons out there that consider themselves ninjas? Ninjas are just some scam to get famous on youtube," Zane insulted in laughter.

"Silence! You'll regret ever saying that little boy!" Aya warned him.

"I'm not afraid of some chick in Daisy Fuentes's latest workout get up," Zane sneered.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" she dared.

"You're on!" Zane accepted.

"I'll be taking care of the pokemon battles around here," an older man with black hair wearing a blue, ninja outfit stepped out of the darkness.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Koga, this gym's leader," he informed us.

"So this is the Fuscia City Gym!?" I asked in delight.

"That is correct," he confirmed.

"Finally, we found it!" I smiled happily.

"You three must be trainers wanting to obtain a badge, is that right?" Koga asked.

"Actually, we were just planning on vandalizing some stuff and cooking up some crack," Owen ridiculed.

"Yes sir, he and I are here to get a gym badge," I told him pointing to Zane and me.

"I was here first!" Zane jumped forward and pushed me back onto the ground. "If you don't mind sir, I'm ready to battle right now!"

"Excuse me!" I placed my hands on my hips after I got back up.

"This will be a two on two battle. Young man, are you ready?" Koga asked him as he stepped back to create some space.

"Yes indeedy, sweetie," Zane grinned confidently.

"All right, begin!" Aya waved her arms in the air to start the battle.

"I'll choose first, go Venomoth!" Koga tossed a pokeball that contained a large, purple moth.

"Venomoth?" I repeated and pulled out my pokedex in curiosity.

_Venomoth is the evolved form of Venonat. Venomoth flutters its wings to scatter tiny dust like scales which can lead to poison or penalization._

"Better be careful Zane!" I warned him.

"I can take care of myself," he spat stubbornly. "Piloswine!" Zane chucked a pokeball which contained his Piloswine, which we've met before at the Gallade City Festival.

"Venomoth, stun spore," said Koga calmly with his eyes closed.

"Use icy wind to blow it away!" Zane ordered his Piloswine. Piloswine then blew tiny ice particles out of her snout and blew the stun spore right out of the way. "Next use mud bomb!" Zane shouted in excitement. Piloswine then shot a blob of mud towards Venomoth but Koga was quick to react.

"Venomoth, dodge the attack then use supersonic!" Koga called out rapidly. Venomoth easily avoided the mud bomb then fluttered its wings sending out rays that hit Piloswine and confused her.

"Snap out of it Piloswine!" Zane shouted and gritted his teeth nervously.

"Don't hesitate Venomoth, use psybeam," Koga commanded still in a tranquil state.

Zane grew frustrated as the attack hit his pokemon with great force and Piloswine grew tired.

"Stay in this Piloswine and use mud bomb once more!" Zane bellowed.

"That didn't work before, why is Zane using it again?" I asked out loud.

"I think he has some sort of strategy," Owen stated with his arms folded.

Once again Piloswine spat out a ball of mud and fired it towards Venomoth but Koga counter reacted and said, "Dodge and use tackle,"

"Fury attack, Piloswine!" Zane swiftly called out. Piloswine evaded Venomoth's charge then hit it continuously with its horns. Venomoth screeched from the rapid stabbing and struggled to keep itself up in the air.

"Stay in this Venomoth!" Koga grew worried for his injured pokemon.

"Quickly, take down!" Zane yelled to Piloswine. The ice type pokemon tackled the Venomoth at full speed causing it to fall the floor and faint.

"Venomoth is unable to battle!" Aya confirmed. "Brother, send out your next pokemon," she told him.

"For my next pokemon I will choose Golbat," Koga dramatically threw out a pokeball and a blue bat like pokemon popped out, crying its name in a shrill voice.

"_Golbat! Golbat!_" it cried.

"Piloswine return," Zane aimed a pokeball at the pokemon which retrieved it back inside, then sent out his Magnemite.

"Interesting choice young man," Koga commented.

Zane shrugged with a smile, "I have my reasons,"

"Are electric types good against poison type pokemon?" I asked Owen on the sideline.

"Nothing says they aren't," he answered simply.

"Let's start things off with a little thunder," Zane smirked. Magnemite took a second to charge then unleashed multiple shots of lightening uncontrollably from the magnets on the side of its head. Right away it shocked Golbat and almost burnt it to a crisp.

"That was amazing!" I gasped in shock. Tiny bolts of static continued to shock Golbat slightly throughout the rest of the battle.

"Leech life," Koga calmly told his Golbat. Golbat slowly flapped its way over towards Magnemite who just watched the pokemon attempt to keep itself up in the air.

"This match is decided," Owen muttered confidently.

"How do you know?" I asked cockily.

"Golbat can't bite a pokemon made of steel," he explained with an egotistic grin.

"Golbat, retreat! Cancel attack!" Koga overheard Owen and ordered his pokemon straight away.

"Way to go big mouth, try keeping your arrogant pie hole shut, will ya?" Zane snubbed angrily.

"Don't let your granny panties get in a bunch," Owen snarled.

"Magnemite, use sonic boom!" Zane regained focus and told his pokemon. The electric type pokemon relinquished two compact forces of electrified wind that hit Golbat with a hard hit.

"Use air cutter Golbat," Koga told his bat like pokemon. Golbat lifted itself up so its head almost hit the ceiling, then gave one fast swipe with each wing which sent a hard wind traveling towards Magnemite. The air cutter made Magnemite drop to the floor and Aya almost declared him unable to battle before Magnemite got back up.

"Finish this Magnemite, thunder shock!" Zane boomed. Magnemite released beams of lightening from its magnets and electrocuted Golbat until the poison type pokemon collapsed to the floor as it muttered its name in agony. Koga returned the Golbat to its pokeball and walked over to Zane knowingly.

"You have rightfully defeated me young sir, and for that you receive this soul badge," Koga unraveled a small, tan scroll and pinned to it was the soul badge. Zane pinched it off the paper and wiped it shinny exterior against his shoulder.

"I knew I could do it," Zane snickered self minded. "After all I am Zane Oak, greatest pokemon trainer and soon to be pokemon master!"

"You wish," I laughed silently.

"Mock me all you want little Scorch but you can never compare to this," he presented himself like he was the best thing in the world. His messy blonde hair and old leather jacket were nothing to brag about. Zane began to walk away with a slight smile of delight remaining across his face but I soon brought him to a halt.

"Aren't you going to stay and watch my battle?" I asked in curiosity. I stuck around for his battle the least he could do was watch mine.

"A ferry for Cinnabar Island leaves in a few days. I can't waste any of my precious time sticking around here to watch you lose," he said rudely without even turning to face me.

As he walked away I spat in his direction, "What an immature jerk. No wonder he travels alone,"

"You're a whinny push over but I tolerate you," Owen remarked trying to be funny, I just punched him hard in the shoulder.

"I am afraid after today my pokemon are very tired and need a days rest. Come back tomorrow and we shall endure in our pokemon battle," said Koga as the gym leader stepped forward.

"I understand," I nodded considerately.

"Good, then I shall see you tomorrow young trainer,"

"You shall."


	47. Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 47

"I hope you got a good night sleep for our battle today," said Koga, the Fuscia City Gym leader, as he greeted me outside the mansion.

"I did, and I am defiantly ready for our battle this morning," I told him confidently while forming a fist with my hand. The heat from the sun was pounding down on our faces. The ground was comfortably soft with healthy, green grass growing beneath our sneakers. Flowers and weeping willows surrounded the area making the garden look beautiful.

"Shall we begin?" Koga asked for my consent.

"Yes sir," I nodded as the both of us stepped away from each other. "This will be a two on two battle as you may have presumed," Koga informed. "You may choose first,"

"I choose you, Growlithe!" I exclaimed as I hurled his Pokeball up into the air.

"_Growlithe! Growl!_" he barked and kicked up dirt with his paw.

"For me, my first Pokemon will be Golbat," the Gym leader solemnly tossed the Pokeball containing his poison bat.

"Start things off with ember!" I told Growlithe. Growlithe opened his mouth and released sparks of fire which pelted Golbat in the stomach. It closed its eyes absorbing the pain from each impact, and then prepared itself to attack.

"Screech, Golbat," Koga folded his hands into some weird, ninja, hand symbol which he held at the center of his chest as he closed his eyes quietly. Koga smirked as his Golbat obeyed his master's orders and belted out an ear-splitting screech. Owen, Growlithe, and I couldn't stand the piercing cry and plugged our ears.

"Now Golbat, wing attack," Koga told it. Golbat swooped down beside Growlithe and as he scratched his ears in irritation Golbat's steal wings slashed his hips.

"Growlithe, stay in this and use bite!" I called out rapidly. Growlithe hopped into the air attempting to snatch the air born Pokemon in his mouth but he could not jump high enough. _This isn't working_, I told myself.

"Ember," I commanded. Growlithe once again shot fiery embers at Golbat and they hit him with better impact the second time around. "Great job Growlithe!" I cheered.

"Use haze," Koga decreed. Golbat dropped its jaw and tried to look threatening by revealing its fangs as it exhaled a sticky, purple smoke. The layer of thick fog covered the area and made it hard to see besides the relative figures near by.

"Growlithe, you ok?" I called to him as I coughed out the toxic smoke. I didn't hear a response. Alls my ears heeded was a silent yelp from within the deepest zone of the fog. All of the sudden, the haze cleared unexpectedly fast and showed Growlithe helplessly laying on the ground with a tiny amount of blood dripping from his neck. My body automatically jumped forward to make sure if he were alright, but I didn't want this battle to end. I still had a chance to win so I silently returned the injured puppy like Pokemon to his Pokeball.

"For my next Pokemon, I choose Totodile!" I quivered slightly as I threw the crocodile's Pokeball into the courtyard. Totodile enthusiastically jumped out of the Pokeball and twirled himself in the air like an acrobat.

"Time to get serious Totodile, let's do this!" I exclaimed with determination. It was as if I could feel it burning in my eyes.

"Start things off with poison sting," Koga told his bat like Pokemon.

"Water gun!" I retaliated. Totodile blasted water towards the flying missiles filled with poison, which made them turn to dust and float to the ground.

"Well done, but can you handle my confuse ray?" Koga questioned with a confident smirk which quickly faded to a glare filled with concentration. He swung his arm up into the air rapidly as he boomed, "Now Golbat, confuse ray!"

"Oh no!" I bellowed in despair. Golbat flapped its wings with one, hard swipe and two, purple, curvy waves tackled Totodile like he was a football player. The hit was so incredibly strong it shocked us all.

"C'mon Totodile, stick in this thing and use water gun," I slowly told him, stretching out each word so the dazed Pokemon could comprehend. He looked over his shoulder with a dopey look as he held his head in distress

"Snap out of it you stupid Pokemon!" I shouted angrily, clenching my fist so hard my knuckles colored white.

"Calm down Kylie, yelling won't win this battle," Owen placed his hand on my shoulder supportively.

"You're right," I inhaled slowly to calm myself.

"Golbat, end this with wing attack!" Koga hollered with a laugh of victory.

"What to do…" I scratched my head nervously as Golbat charged towards Totodile with its wings glowing with energy. "Forget it, this match is over," I sighed and planted my face in my hands.

I unhooked the Pokeball from my belt and aimed the red light at my puzzled Pokemon before Golbat could inflict him with anymore damage.

"Wise choice, your Pokemon's safety is always the most important thing and if I were in the exact situation I would've done the same," Koga said to me as he walked over.

"Looks like someone didn't smell a win today," Owen snickered as he folded his arms satisfied with his insult.

"No one asked you!" I screamed angrily as I punched him right down on the top of his head, then he collapsed to the ground and groaned in discomfort.

"You put up a fine battle, I hope to see you again?" the noble gym leader guessed.

"Yes, you will eventually," I nodded faking a half smile.

"Train hard and always try your best,"

"I will," I sighed sadly and disappointed in myself.

I turned away and began to walk at a leisurely pace. The sun had reached its peek and my stomach grumbled from a lack of breakfast. My mind wandered off to the numerous nutritional necessities my body craved for but my self conscious wouldn't let the burden of the recent lose shed off my shoulders. A ghost of battle's past shifted around me and I waved my arm carelessly in the air pretending to shoo the imaginary nuisance away.

"Don't go suicidal on us Kylie," Owen joked noticing my depressed expression. My shoulders sulked over my knees as I walked along and exhaled deeply. I felt like I should cry but I didn't have the energy to shed the tears. My calves turned to rocks and I shouted angrily from the inside to let myself sit down but some force kept pulling me onward.

Later in the day we found a river to take a break near by. I lay in the grass with my eyes closed while Owen wrote in his "journal".

"Writing about how I pathetically lost?" I asked openly. The gentle breeze let the grass sway and tickle my thighs as the sound of running water put us all as peace. Before we sat down to relax I let all my Pokemon out from their Pokeballs. Charmander, Growlithe, and Totodile went off to play while Rapidash and Houndoom curled up next to one another under a shady tree.

"No," Owen answered bluntly. I didn't lift my head to see him but I could hear the scratching of the pencil against the rough paper of the spiral bound notebook.

"Then what are you writing about?" I yawned as I turned on my side and coiled up into a ball while my eyes remained shut.

"Nothing," he mumbled. I peeked open one eye to see him clutch the notebook close to his stomach as if I were going to run over and steal it. I puffed out a small chuckle then ignored his odd ways of writing in a diary like a little, school girl. Although, I still wonder what he writes about in there. My mind flashed back to that one time I was evil enough to snoop through his things and read what his latest entry said:

"July 23rd,

I don't know what to do. My mind is so confused lately. I can't stop thinking about her. I'll never forget that-"

To this day I can't seem to crack the code.

I lifted my head slightly to see him continuing to lean against the trunk of a full grown ever green and scribble on the off-white paper. I planted my head back onto the ground and sprawled out on the green grass. I flapped my arms up and down like I was making a snow angel. The dirt from underneath the blades of grass smudged into my clothes and covered the backs of my arms and legs.

"Hey Owen, let's go skinny dipping!" I sarcastically shouted at him. He didn't even look away from his continuous writing. "I WAS KIDDING ANYWAY YOU PERVE!" I insulted so I wouldn't feel so embarrassed after totally screaming that on the top of my lungs.

I got off the ground and shoved my hands into my pockets as I began to shuffle my feet along side the river.

"A nice walk will clear my head," I whispered to myself. I reached another clearing where I spotted Charmander, Growlithe, and Totodile standing around and laughing. I waved to my Pokemon then carried on with my walk.

"_Weekends are for the warriors! All those late nights walking through front doors at day break!_" I sang aloud in the empty forest, Weekend Warriors, by A Change of Pace, currently my favorite song. I suddenly broke out into a random and wiggly dance and once I finished I laughed at myself, "I'm acting weirder then usual."

Later in the evening I arrived back where Owen and our Pokemon were. He lay beside the river with his feet dipped in the water. His eyes were closed and I thought to myself, _perfect time to scare him._

I tip-toed as softly as I could towards him and my Pokemon stood on the sidelines, starring at me like I was crazy. I smiled trying to keep myself from giggling and ruining the surprise. I arrived next to his side and knelt down to put my mouth next to his ear. I smiled to myself before shouting as loud as I could, "WAAAAAAKE UPPPPP!!!!"

Owen immediately sprung up like a catapult and turned his head in every direction shocked and confused.

"AHH! WHAT?! WHAT?! WHERE IS IT!?" he shouted drowsily yet loud. I rolled on the ground engulfed with laughter.

"Oh you little-" he seethed grumpily.

"I'm sorry," I panted from laughing so hard and cleared the tear away from dripping down my cheek.

"I think you should be training instead of pulling pranks," Owen advised following a yawn.

"You're right…" I confessed in a mumble.

"I'll help you out," he smiled charmingly.

"You will?" I raised an eye brow stunned.

"Sure, got nothing better to do… except seek revenge for causing me to go deaf,"

Owen stood across from me with his Lickatung prepared to help me train. I knew I was going to use Growlithe and Totodile again when I battled the Fuscia City Gym leader, so I started off with Growlithe by my side.

"Ready 'little Scorch'?" Owen teased.

"Yeah, I have no idea how Zane started calling me that," I chuckled with a simple shrug of the shoulders.

"Lickatung, use roll out!" Owen commanded.

"Dodge and use ember!" I quickly called out. Growlithe jumped out of the way of the rolling Lickatung and swiftly back fired by shooting fiery sparks at him. The sparks pelted Lickatung and burnt the surface of his skin. He rubbed the lumps in pain.

"Great Growlithe, nice move!" I encouraged and the puppy Pokemon looked up at me with a pleasant smile.

"Lickatung, use disable!" Owen shouted. Lickatung stretched out his long tongue and licked Growlithe's scruffy fur. Growlithe shivered as the tingly sensation crawled through out his body. Suddenly, Growlithe's face weakened and he collapsed right on his belly.

"Growlithe, are you alright?" I asked him with great concern. I pulled out my Pokedex to learn more about this disable move.

_Disable can paralyze a Pokemon temporarily and sometimes removes their ability to attack with certain moves through out the rest of the battle._

"Oh no!" I cried. Within a couple seconds Growlithe slowly got off the ground but when I told him to fire back with ember it didn't work.

"Crap, disable isn't letting us use ember," I muttered frustrated to myself.

"Take down!" Owen ordered. Lickatung charged towards Growlithe with his head darting forward. The normal type Pokemon bashed its skull into Growlithe's chest and sent him skidding across the ground.

"You can do this Growlithe! I know you can!" I cheered him on as he struggled to get up. He stood on his wobbly legs when suddenly a spurt of fire coursed through his eyes. He growled viciously at Lickatung who stood there baffled. It was as if a confident and powerful spirit over took Growlithe. All of the sudden, the fire type Pokemon opened his jaw and unleashed an amazingly strong blast of fire that sent Lickatung crashing against the trunk of a near by tree.

"That was incredible!" I gasped in awe, Owen's jaw also dropped in pure amazement.

_Flamethrower is a powerful attack learned by upper level fire type Pokemon, and it may inflict a burn, _Dexter explained.

"Hear that Owen? Growlithe learned flamethrower! That will surely win us the battle for the soul badge tomorrow!" I formed a fist confidently while I pat Growlithe on the head with my other hand.

"Whoa, you're going to challenge the Gym leader tomorrow? Aren't you going to take another day or two to train?" Owen asked after he returned his injured Lickatung to its Pokeball.

"No way, I just thought up a brilliant strategy that will defiantly give us the win!"


	48. New Found Glory

**A/N: If you guys have any good suggestions for a new and decent summary I could use for this story, I'd really really appreciate the help! Also, please review! I love the constructive critism and feedback!**

Chapter 48

My eyes shot open from the strange sound of leaves scratching against each other. I leaned forward on my fore arm to see Larvitar eating some red berries off a bush close by.

"Hey Owen," I shook him awake.

"What do you want? It's 7:30 in the morning," he moaned grumpily as he glanced at his watch. I smiled slightly at the thought he was actually wearing it.

"Remember that Larvitar that used to follow us all the time?" I asked while fitting my feet into my sneakers.

"Yeah," he yawned while scratching the crusty stuff out of the corner of his eye.

"He's back," I pointed to the small, pale green, lizard like Pokemon that noticed us and became frozen with terror.

"That stupid thing again?" he lazily pulled the sleeping bag over his head.

"He really must be lost from his pack," I sighed sympathetically. The boy rolled up his sleeping bag and placed it in his backpack before zipping it closed. He almost turned to start walking away before I decided, "Well, if you aren't going to catch him, I will,"

"Say what?" Owen questioned with an immediate halt.

"A Pokemon this loyal will be a perfect member of the gang!" I said enthusiastically. "I choose you, Charmander!" I shouted as I tossed Charmander's Pokeball out into the open. Larvitar fearfully watched the silver and red sphere bounce off the ground and explode with beams of light. Charmander appeared with a delighted smile across his face but Larvitar remained intimidated.

"Alright Charmander, let's do this, tackle it!" I energetically cried. Charmander charged towards Larvitar who cowered down in fear. Charmander immediately stopped in his tracks just before hitting the ground type Pokemon. Charmander scratched the back of his head in confusion. Larvitar covered its tiny face with his paws and curled up in a ball trying its best to avoid eye contact with Charmander.

"It's alright Larvitar, fight back!" I encouraged the petrified Pokemon.

"Pathetic…" Owen muttered.

"Scratch!" I called out to Charmander. Charmander looked over his shoulder at me with a doubtful grin while scratching the back of his bald head. The Charmander obeyed and cut the Larvitar in between his eyes. Larvitar became cross eyed as he starred at the microscopic wound and began to cry like a sprinkler. He dashed over next to Owen and attempted to climb up his leg. This failed because he by accidentally clawed Owen's leg trying to run from Charmander.

"Oww! Get off me you dumb animal!" Owen angrily shook his leg free of the Larvitar. He landed with a loud thud then scrambled to his feet before running away.

"OWEN!" I punched the boy in the arm angrily. "How could you just kick an innocent Pokemon like that?! Alls he wants to do is travel with you! And you don't even give him a chance! Try thinking about other peoples' feelings before your own for once!" I screamed in his face. Owen just looked at his feet arrogantly after mistreating the wild Pokemon.

We walked to the Fuscia City Gym in silence. We arrived at the large mansion and spotted Koga in the same courtyard as we did yesterday. The man was sprinkling food across the ground for numerous types of wild bug Pokemon to eat. Venomoth and Butterfree gently fluttered in the air while Weedle and Caterpie munched on the scattered food.

"Hello," I greeted with a bright smile.

"It seems one day of training is enough, huh?" the Gym leader chuckled as he hand fed one of the Butterfree.

"One day is all I need," I told him. "You're excellent with wild Pokemon, how do you get them to trust you so much?" I asked trying to hand feed a Venomoth, but it flew away scared.

"I feed these Pokemon every morning," he informed us.

"So the trust was built over time," I finished.

"Indeed, these Pokemon stay close by and make their nests in this courtyard. Someday I hope to be able to train all these Pokemon to be as strong as they can be without having to capture them," Koga explained.

"Friendship is what's most important in a trainer/Pokemon relationship," I agreed. Owen looked off to the side during the conversation. I wondered if he was thinking about that Larvitar from earlier in the day.

"Shall we start our battle?" Koga asked while dusting the Pokemon food residue off his hands.

I nodded.

"Let's take this over there," he pointed to a clearing not too far away. "I don't want to disturb these Pokemon,"

Koga and I stood apart each with our Pokemon by our sides. His Golbat flapped its wings to support itself in the air while my Growlithe sat by my feet waiting for the battle to be under way.

"Ready?" Koga bowed respectfully at me.

"Ready," I replied with a slight bow back.

"Alright Golbat, poison sting!" Koga told the flying type Pokemon. Golbat fired sharp, fine, purple needles and Growlithe yelped in pain as the missiles pierced his skin.

"Shake them off," I told Growlithe. The fire type Pokemon shook his thick fur and most of the needles fell out. "Now use leer!"

Growlithe glared intensely into Golbat's squinty eyes until the Pokemon was so intimidated, it could no longer move.

"Now use tackle!" I told Growlithe swiftly. Growlithe promptly sprinted towards the motionless Golbat and full on tackled it to the ground. The poison type Pokemon stammered its name in agony while Growlithe prevented the Pokemon from moving by latching it down with both his paws on the Pokemon's abdomen.

"Quick Golbat, use poison sting!" Koga nervously called out. The Golbat caught Growlithe off guard by inflicting the fire type dog with the same poisonous missiles as before. One after another, they pounded against his chest until he collapsed to the dirt ground.

I cheered him on, "Get up Growlithe! You're doing great! Stay in this!"

The Pokemon feebly got up with his knees shaking. Growlithe cockily growled at the Golbat which was back in the air once again. _Damn it, it's a lot easier to attack Pokemon on the ground, _I thought to myself. Growlithe panted heavily and he continued to struggle to keep himself standing. His knees wobbled, his hind legs trembled, and his head dipped low to the ground. However, this battle isn't over yet.

"Have you fallen short of commands?" Koga snickered rudely.

"We're just getting warmed up!" I clenched my fists furiously, so tight that my knuckles turned pale white and the veins on my forearms bulged. "How dare he question my skill as a Pokemon trainer…" I muttered softly and angrily.

"Focus Kylie, don't lose control of your temper," Owen calmed from the side lines.

"Shut up, no one needs your input!" I snapped brutally.

"Too late," he rolled his eyes in the other direction. Suddenly, a surge of realization coursed through out my body. The tingly sensation dripped down from my toes to my finger tips. I realized, I really did need to calm down, so I inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly with my eyes closed.

"Growlithe, flame tornado! Just like we practiced!" I shouted confidently while leaping in the air. Growlithe nodded then opened his mouth. It took a couple seconds until a large blast of fire shot out and struck the ground like a lightening bolt. A tornado made of fire formed right in front of us all. It twirled with extreme winds pulling us all towards it. Golbat tried to fly away but it was sucked up by the tornado like a vacuum. The Pokemon screeched piercing cries as it spun inside the fiery, spinning, tomb until it finally dulled down and disappeared as a surprising burst of wind blew past. Golbat lie on the ground, skin burnt black and eyes filled with X's.

"Golbat is unable to battle! Kylie and her Growlithe are the winners!" Owen announced like a professional referee.

"Venomoth, it's your turn!" Koga exclaimed as he tossed the Pokeball containing the over-sized moth. "Venomoth, stun spore," Koga commanded.

"Oh no, not this again," I sighed. "Use flame wheel to dodge it Growlithe!" I grinded my teeth nervously as the fire type Pokemon engulfed himself in flames and spun like a wheel on a car. The stun spore burnt and disintegrated right on contact.

"Strike again with flame wheel," I told him. Growlithe launched into the air, still surrounded by the turning fire and charged right into Venomoth who fell the ground. Growlithe landed safely on all four legs and shook the embers off his fur. Venomoth lifted itself back into the air and glared heatedly at Growlithe.

"Quick Venomoth, psybeam," Koga ordered solemnly. Venomoth fired waves of purple confusion towards Growlithe.

"Fire back with flamethrower!" I rapidly shouted out. Growlithe and Venomoth continuously fired their attacks which collided with one another each time. Smoke began to spread from the never ending collisions. It was like a game of tug-o-war.

"Hit the ground," I ordered. Growlithe fired a single blast of fire at the earth and surprisingly, my plan worked! The flamethrower bounced right off the grass and hit Venomoth from the bottom. The bug type Pokemon plummeted to the ground and lie motionless on the burnt grass beneath it.

"Venomoth, take a long rest," Koga said as he chucked the Pokeball which hit the moth and retrieved it back inside.

"We won!" I shouted happily as Growlithe pushed me to ground and licked my face gladly. "Good job Growlithe, you were awesome!" I laughed as he continued to slobber all over my cheeks. I pushed the Pokemon away and wiped the saliva on my shorts.

The Gym leader walked over gradually with his head hanging down. When he arrived in front of me and Owen he stood up straight and smiled as he unraveled the tan scroll that we saw the other day. In the center was the two inch, pink, heart shaped, soul badge that glistened as the sun hit it perfectly.

"I am honored to give you the Fuscia City soul badge," Koga placed the small pin in the middle of my hand.

"Alright, the Fuscia City Gym badge. I finally got it," I delightfully said to myself as I smiled down at the shinning emblem.

"You earned it. You and your Growlithe have an amazing bond, I can tell you've been training it very hard," Koga complimented as he bent over and pat Growlithe on the head.

"Thanks," I replied with a smile from ear to ear. I returned Growlithe to his Pokeball for a long, peaceful rest, and Owen and I were on our way.

We found a dirt trail that seemed to be the one we were on earlier before getting lost trying to find the Fuscia City Gym. Owen walked ahead of me as I trailed behind starring down at all 6 of my badges which were pinned to the inside of my messenger bag. I reminisced about all my past gym battles and thought of how much stronger all my Pokemon have gotten over my trip. Houndour had already evolved to a Houndoom, and Ponyta to a Rapidash.

"So where to next, Owen?" I asked him as he held the map of Kanto in his hands.

"There's another gym on Cinnabar Island and a ferry is leaving for it in 4 days," Owen informed as he busily read the map.

"Sweet, I can't wait to battle my grandpa," I punched the air excitedly.

"Your grandpa is the Gym leader on Cinnabar Island?" Owen asked looking over his shoulder back at me.

"Yeah, how awesome is that?"

"Cool I guess," he shrugged.

In the distance we spotted two trainers having a Pokemon battle. I rushed over to watch the fight. We arrived to see one teenage boy with blue, spiky hair that dangled in front of his face. He wore a yellow T-shirt, jean shorts, worn out sneakers, and white bandages wrapped around his wrists that lead up to the green, finger tip-less gloves on his hands. The man standing across from him was middle aged with brown hair that was styled almost like Elvis Presley's. He wore a white beater, black jeans with new running shoes, and a red towel hung around the man's neck. The man had a bulky chin and a satisfied grin plastered across his face.

"Gab with the left, Hitmonchan," the middle aged man instructed while demonstrating for the fighting type Pokemon. In front of the man stood a strange looking Pokemon. There was really no way to describe it besides the fact it wore a purple dress and red, shinning, boxing gloves on its hands.

"That's an interesting Pokemon," I commented bluntly as I removed my Pokedex from the pocket it rested in.

_Hitmonchan is the punching master of all fighting type Pokemon. It can throw arm-twisting punches that can even pulverize concrete._

"That's amazing," I gasped in admiration.

"Some fire power that's for sure," Owen added in.

"Don't give up Machamp, use your karate chop!" the boy screeched whipping the air with numerous karate slices. Beside the blue haired teenager stood a wide, grey monster that looked as if it was made of rocks. It wore black tights and three, silver blades were sticking out of its head.

_Machamp is the fighting type Pokemon with amazing punching speed, it can launch up to 1,000 punches in two seconds._

"One thousand!?" I asked stunned while trying to whip as many punches I could in two seconds, trying to grasp how fast the punches must truly be.

Owen folded his arms and joked, "Hitmonchan got some competition,"

Machamp pounded Hitmonchan with multiple karate chops and I could see the scratches appear on Hitmonchan's face. The man quickly refuted and told his Hitmonchan to use comet punch which knocked Machamp right to the ground.

"You did great Machamp, don't you worry," the boy knelt down and told his Pokemon sincerely.

"Good work Hitmonchan," the man pat Hitmonchan on the shoulder encouragingly.

"What an awesome battle! Two fighting type Pokemon battling it out!" I said enthusiastically as I punched the air before Owen's face. He just starred back at me like he was too mature to play.

"Can't put your guard down, always be prepared for the unexpected," the man told the teenage boy. The boy looked down ashamed of his loss. "Any interest in enterin' the P-1 Grand Pre?" the man asked us with a hopeful smile.

"What's that?" Owen asked.

"It's a tournament between all the fighting Pokemon in the area. Whoever wins gets the top prize!" the boy stood up to happily show us a picture of a golden belt with "P-1" on it. "Anthony here, has been the P-1 champ for the last two years," the boy explained, nodding towards the man next to him.

"Me and Hitmonchan are goin' for our third too," he teased as he messed up the boy's hair.

"I'm Harold by the way, but everyone just calls me Toad," the boy with spiky, blue hair introduced. "And this big guy here is Anthony," Toad lightly punched the buff man's arm.

"Toad is my nephew and I'm helpin' him out with some trainin' before the big match tomorrow," Anthony had a very thick accent, but I wasn't sure what kind.

"We're ready," Toad looked the other way and smirked confidently.

"So what you say?" Anthony grasped the towel around his neck. "You guys in?"

"Owen, you should totally enter! After all you are a fighting Pokemon expert," I optimistically encouraged.

"I wouldn't call me an expert," Owen flushed modestly.

"Alright kid, you're entering this thing and that's final," Anthony threatened jokingly.

Owen nodded followed by a shrug, "Sure, why not?"


	49. The P1 Grand Pre

**A/N: Thanks so much for the new reviews everybody! Keep up the good work! :D**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 49

"Are you ready for this kid?" Anthony came up from behind Owen and placed his hand on Owen's shoulder. Owen jumped a bit but smiled assuring the man. Toad was off to the side giving a pep-talk to his Machamp. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan stood beside our group play fighting, throwing a couple punches and kicks at each other to prepare for the tournament. We all stood in a large stadium. It was dark besides the numerous spot lights that shinned down on the wrestling ring in the middle of the coliseum. Bleachers lined the walls and a small room off to the side is where the announcer sat and declared the play-by-play. It was a lot different looking then the stadium in Vermillion City. The arena there was more recreational looking, the one we were at now was much more formal and official.

"Daddy, good luck and be careful," a girl with a brown braid, a white T-shirt with an orange collar, and a blue jean skirt walked up casually. She looked around 18 years old.

"Don't worry about me as it's Hitmonchan goin' out there," Anthony chuckled. "Everyone, this is my daughter Rebecca," he introduced.

"I'm Kylie," I told her.

"The name's Owen," Owen gestured a slight wave.

"Nice to meet you all," she smiled halfheartedly. "Daddy, you promised after this P-1 Grand Pre you'd you come home,"

"I will Rebecca don't you worry about it," Anthony placed his hand on the shoulder of his daughter comfortingly. Anthony walked away and Rebecca watched her father disappear. She quickly turned back to us with a worried look on her face.

"You're entering right?" she asked Owen while holding his hands.

He looked down shocked she had randomly taken his hands and replied uneasily, "Uhh, yeah?"

"Please, I'm begging you. Beat my father so he is no longer the P-1 champ," she pleaded. "Every year he promises he'll come home, and with my mother sick someone needs to take care of her,"

"Didn't he just say he's going home after he wins or something?" I asked.

"Sure, he says that now, but once he wins he'll want to win again," she sniffled with tears almost dripping from her eyes. "Alls you need to do is beat him and maybe he'll come home,"

"Okay?" Owen grinned doubtfully.

"Welcome one and all to the annual P-1 Grand Pre!" the announcer shook through out the stadium. "Introducing the Pokemon Number One Champion for the last two years straight, the punching machine Hitmonchan and his trainer Anthony!" the announcer commenced.

"Challenging them for the title will be Toad along with his rock solid contender Machamp! And for the first time, say hello to Owen and his kicking pro Hitmonlee!"

I found my seat which was right next to Rebecca's. She bit her lip nervously as the first two competitors stepped onto the ring to begin the tournament. A boy and his Poliwrath stood in one corner while Owen and his Hitmonlee waited in the other. I couldn't hear what Owen was saying to his Hitmonlee over the roar of the crowd, but soon enough the bell rang and the match was under way.

Poliwrath stomped its way out into the center of the ring and Hitmonlee gradually walked out with its hands up protecting its face. The two glared each other in the eye before their masters both called out an attack at the same time.

"Focus punch, Poliwrath!" the boy yelled at one end.

"Mega kick, Hitmonlee!" Owen shouted from the other.

Both Pokemon launched their attacks at the same time and both collided with one another. While Hitmonlee's leg was glued to Poliwrath's fist, the water type Pokemon threw another punch directed right at Hitmonlee's stomach. Hitmonlee stumbled back but right away starting pitching kicks that were almost invisible they flew so fast. Each one hit Poliwrath and the Pokemon closed its eyes absorbing the pain.

"Hitmonlee is launching some tough kicks and each and every one is hitting poor Poliwrath!" the announcer broadcasted.

"Hang in there Poliwrath! Hit Hitmonlee with a brick break!" the boy instructed.

Poliwrath gabbed Hitmonlee right on the chest with a glowing white punch. I could see Owen grit his teeth as Hitmonlee was constantly punched at.

"Swing it!" Owen suddenly called out. Hitmonlee comprehended the command right away and kicked Poliwrath right off its feet. Poliwrath landed on its back with a thunderous thump and Hitmonlee swung its leg above Poliwrath, landing a strong kick right in the center of Poliwrath's belly. Poliwrath rolled over on its stomach and didn't get up. The referee counted to three and Hitmonlee was proclaimed the winner of round one!

"Hitmonlee and his trainer, Owen win the first round and will move on to the next! What a finish! What a kick!" the announcer shook in excitement.

Hitmonlee leaped over the wires that fenced the wrestling ring. Owen jogged over to his fighting champ, gleaming in pride as he caressed his Pokemon tightly.

"Yeah, all right Owen!" I cheered along with the crowd. Rebecca starred at me like a crazy person had overwhelmed my body.

Round two went by fast with Anthony cheering his Hitmonchan on as the punching Pokemon easily defeated the small Mankey. Round three was an epic battle between Toad and his Machamp, and the opponent, Golem. However, the match was difficult through out but still, Toad emerged victorious.

Next was round four. Anthony and Owen were facing off in order to make it to the finals with Toad. Groups of people in the crowd stomped on the floor while cheering for their favorite contender. I clanged to the arms of my chair as Rebecca watched closely. No one could guess who was going to win this battle.

"Round four has arrived! A battle to remember, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, both famous for their own fighting techniques will be facing off! Ring that bell!" the broadcaster rambled.

The bell rung and both Pokemon stepped into the ring with determination burning in their eyes. Right away, Hitmonlee kicked a few at Hitmonchan but the punching Pokemon easily blocked each kick. Hitmonchan began to punch Hitmonlee near the face continuously. Each one hitting Hitmonlee with extreme force, so much force there was no time for the wounded Pokemon to evade any of the fast flying attacks.

"Oh, this isn't looking too good for ol' Hitmonlee! He's trapped in a vortex of amazingly strong punches brought to you by the challenger Hitmonchan!" the announcer called the play-by-play.

"C'mon Owen, get back in this and tell Hitmonlee to attack," I mumbled as I bit my bottom lip nervously.

Next Hitmonchan threw a punch right at Hitmonlee's rib cage. It looked as if its glove had caught on fire from the intense speed it was pitched at. Hitmonlee tumbled to the ground and shook from the sudden shock.

"You got this Hitmonlee! Get back up!" Owen shouted frustrated. I could see him begin to sweat nervously.

"Is Hitmonlee out?" the announcer asked as he and the audience waited for the referee to reach 3 seconds. Just as the referee had finally reached 3 seconds, Hitmonlee hopped back up off its back and swung a kick colliding with Hitmonchan's arm.

Anthony tightened his fists so hard they shook as he belted, "Give it the Mega Punch!"

Hitmonchan nodded at his trainer's command and tried to raise its arm to swing the punch, but it couldn't. The crowd gasped in shock and I could see Anthony's jaw drop. The kick from Hitmonlee must have paralyzed Hitmonchan's arm temporarily.

"Go with the left Hitmonchan. I know you can do it," Anthony told Hitmonchan.

Hitmonchan cried its name as it swung a miraculously fast punch that knocked Hitmonlee to the floor. The referee reached three seconds and the audience applauded and cheered like crazy as Hitmonchan stood triumphant. It raised its left boxing glove in the air, spot lights bouncing off the shinning leather glove.

"And Hitmonchan wins it! Overcoming the struggles of right over left, Hitmonchan proved that it is indeed an ambidextrous, with a punch that powerful!" the announcer celebrated along with the crowd.

Shortly after, I found Owen carefully placing ice on one of Hitmonlee's wounds in the opponent's locker room. It didn't say any specific gender was allowed inside so I welcomed myself into entering the room.

"You guys did great," I walked up to the teenage boy with an optimistic smile.

"Thanks Kylie," he beamed back.

I pulled back in shock, "Whoa,"

"What?" he asked clueless.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say my name," I laughed.

"Really? I don't think it's the _first_,"

"Doesn't matter," I shrugged. "How's it going Hitmonlee?" I got on one knee and to ask the Pokemon. Owen was also on his knees while Hitmonlee sat on a stool, getting patched up. Numerous bruises stained Hitmonlee's skin and the Pokemon winced as Owen sprayed different patches of skin with potion.

"Is anyone else in here?" I asked.

Owen simply replied, "Nope,"

That didn't seem so bad.

A medical bag sat plump next to me. It was black leather and unzipped revealing it was filled with numerous potions and bandages. Owen then asked, "Can you pass me a bandage?"

"Sure," I reached for the rolled up, peach cloth sticking out of the bag.

"No, never mind I got it," the boy changed his mind.

But it was too late. I had already placed my hand around the bandage and he by accidentally placed his on top of mine. The awkward feeling of his hand touching mine surprised me and I was even more surprised when he almost laced his fingers through mine. We gazed into each other's eyes, while I blushed uncontrollably. Suddenly, we were intruded by a loud banging sound on the metal door. Owen quickly removed his hand from contacting mine and went back to tending to his Pokemon. Rebecca poked her head into the room and informed us Toad had won the match.

"That means father will finally come home!" she shouted in glee and excitement. The girl closed the door, leaving Owen and me alone once again. I got up and began to gradually walk towards the door, hoping Owen would stop me and say something. Anything. I turned and saw the blonde haired boy wrapping Hitmonlee's waste in the bandage. I opened my mouth to say something but I wasn't even sure of what that was. I continued shuffling towards the door, and exited the locker room.

We all met in the ring where Toad cried as he shook his trophy in pure joy. The crowd went wild for Toad's achievement and the announcer boomed over the loud speaker, getting the audience very energetic about the tournament that had just passed. Owen stood in the ring. Smiling along with the other contenders. Even though cheers echoed through out the stadium so loud they could have caused me to go deaf, my mind blocked everything out. Everything around my body melted away and I felt as if I was standing in a black, lifeless, never ending, hole. This hole sucked.

I shook my head bringing myself back to reality. We regrouped outside the gym where Anthony, Rebecca, and Toad stood facing me and Owen.

"I could never be any prouder of you, my nephew," Anthony pat Toad on the back, tearing up a bit.

"Daddy, does this mean you'll come home?" Rebecca asked folding her hands together in hope.

"Of course honey. A promise is a promise," the past P-1 Champion nodded his head.

"You did great Toad, congrats," I told him.

"Thanks, not so bad yourself Owen," the teenager flashed a thumbs up at him.

"Please, come back next year. I'd love to fight that Hitmonlee, what a challenge that was," Anthony begun our good-byes.

"Next year I'll be traveling to Hoenn to partake in the Hoenn Pokemon Fighting Tournament, but if I find the time I'd love to participate again," Owen explained to the middle aged man.

"Keep training and I'm sure you'll kick all their asses!" Toad exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Toad, watch the language buddy," Anthony chuckled.

"Sorry," he shrugged.

We turned around after saying good-bye to our new friends, making our way to Cinnabar Island. For the hundredth time we followed the same old, dirt path. Suddenly, we were stopped by a shrill call in the distance. We turned to see Amber Relic running towards us with her arms waving frantically. She greeted Owen with a peck on the cheek.

"Whore," I muttered tenaciously.

"Amber, what's up?" Owen stuttered sounding somewhat nervous.

"I saw you in the competition. You did awesome," she lightly shoved the boy.

_Good, push him around, embarrass him, do anything so I don't have to see your ugly face again, _I thought to myself evilly.

"Thanks," he scratched his nose, oddly avoiding eye contact with the girl.

"Are you guys heading to Cinnabar Island?" she asked.

Owen folded his arms, "Yeah, how about you?"

"I'm heading to Grandpa Canyon. I heard there's been a lot of fossil discoveries there lately. And, well, you know me and fossils," she giggled. "Oh, hey Kylie, nice seeing you again," she said hello kindly.

"Take that phony smile off you slut, you can't be this nice," I spat. Well actually, I didn't say that, but I wish I did.

"Nice to see you too Amber," I lied.

"So Amber, why don't you travel with us?" Owen asked, catching me off guard.

"You mean it?!" Amber exclaimed eagerly.

Owen nodded.

My eyes widened, "You do!?" I questioned in surprise.

"Well, just until we reach Grandpa Canyon," Amber insisted.

"Can't say no to that offer!" I interrupted.

It quickly grew dark and we set up our sleeping bags and a fire. The three of us gathered around the camp fire, telling stories about our journeys so far. Amber was nice enough to include me on their conversations but I barely added anything in. Earlier in the day I found the perfect fire stick for the night. I knew I would need a twig to poke the fire with since I knew I was going to get bored. I leaned in towards to camp fire, my hand supporting my chin, and my other hand busily helping the stick move logs around in the fire. I could tell I was annoying Owen with the frequent embers flying in the air. The two sat next to each other with their hips almost touching as they sat on a long, flat rock.

"So Kylie, are you home sick at all?" Amber asked me thoughtfully.

"No, not really. I miss my dad," I admitted.

"Looking forward to the day you meet Ash Ketchum? Owen told me how you live next door to him," she placed her hand on his knee. I flushed, embarrassed that Owen had told her about how I look up to Ash Ketchum. "It's pretty cool and all. How he's the chosen one," she smiled. She began to talk to me like I was ten. I know she is two years older than me, but she doesn't have to treat me like a child.

"I guess…" I murmured and continued to play with the fire. My estimate would be about one minute past by without any talking, until Owen finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey Kylie, can you go fill up our water?" he asked.

"Sure," I immediately shot up off the ground and tossed my twig into the blazing fire. I picked up his and my thermoses of empty water and began to shuffle into the pitch dark forest.

"DON'T FORGET TO USE A CONDOM!" I shouted.


	50. The Prehistoric Awakening

Chapter 50

**A/N: For those of you that have been sticking with this long, strange trip called PSJ, I want to thank you! THAAAANNNKS! Thanks to all the reviewers, the reviews and constructive criticism have been greatly appreciated! So sit back and enjoy the 50****th**** chapter of Pokemon Scorch Journeys! :D**

"Hey Kylie, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to have another Pokemon battle with you," Amber insisted the next morning.

"Sure," I half smiled with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Let's make this a quick two on two, no substitutes. I want to get over to Grandpa Canyon as soon as possible. Those fossils are just dying to be looked at," said Amber keenly.

I enlarged a Pokeball from off my belt and held it close to my chin, "Totodile, come on out!" I cried as I tossed the round, metal, storage device. Bursting with beams of white light, Totodile appeared and began to jump up and down in excitement.

"Go Flaafy!" Amber sent out a pink sheep Pokemon with a blue, crystal ball on the end of its tail.

"Aww, how cute," I squealed and took out my Pokedex for more information.

_Flaafy is the evolved form of Mareep, if its coat becomes fully charged with electricity, its tail lights up. It fires hairs that zap on impact._

"So, your Mareep must have evolved," I noticed.

"Just a couple days ago in fact," she smiled proudly.

"Wise choice Amber, now you have the advantage," Owen informed her.

"Thanks," she flirtatiously smiled back at the boy.

"They may have the advantage but we have the skill! Totodile, use water gun," I told the crocodile Pokemon. Totodile shot a strong blast of water at Flaafy from its mouth. Flaafy stood there with damp fur and remained unharmed from the ineffective water gun.

"Your water type moves won't do much to Flaafy since it's an electric type," she snickered.

"I know that. Electric type has the advantage over water type is the most well known fact of them all," I glared evilly at the girl. "Now use ice fang, Totodile!" Totodile's teeth turned to icicles before our very eyes, and once he bit down into Flaafy's skin, the whole Pokemon turned to solid ice.

"Not so strong now, are you?" I mumbled with a laugh filled with success.

"Oh no!" Amber gasped before returning her frozen Pokemon to its Pokeball. "But I still have one more Pokemon left,"

The teenaged girl hurled a Pokeball containing her Chinchou. It popped out of its Pokeball in delight. Once the water, electric type combo spotted Totodile it glared at him wickedly.

"Chinchou, use thunder wave!" Amber immediately commanded.

"Dodge and use water gun," I instructed to Totodile. Totodile leaped into the air, avoiding the weak bolt of static heading his way. He then opened his jaw releasing another powerful blast of water. It hit Chinchou causing it to skid across the ground, scratches appearing on his back.

"Quick Totodile, use rage!" I shouted. Before Chinchou could get back up on its stubby legs, Totodile slashed the Pokemon three times with his extended claws.

Amber rushed out to Chinchou, holding the weakened Pokemon in her arms. She stroked Chinchou on the head as its eyes began to slowly close. She tapped the Pokemon gently with a Pokeball and it was pulled back inside for a long rest.

"Alright Totodile, you did it!" I cheered happily as he jumped into my arms. I squeezed the crocodile tightly, filled with glee.

"Someday I hope to win one of our traditional battles," she chuckled while getting off the ground.

"No worries, I'm sure the day will come eventually," I assured her. "Yeah, the day Swinub fly," I muttered to myself.

The three of us headed to Grandpa Canyon. I had no idea what to expect. I had heard of it before, it was always on the news back home in Fallabor Town.

I led the group along the dirt path even though I had no idea where I was heading. Owen and Amber loosely held hands. They made small talk as we walked along at a steady pace. I gripped my messenger bag strap which weighed down my shoulder. I pulled the flap away so inside I could peer in at my 6 badges. I day dreamed about Cinnabar Island and couldn't wait to get my 7th badge.

Suddenly, Amber raced ahead while shouting, "There it is!"

Owen and I caught up to her where we arrived at a small cliff. Down below us we saw a wondrous and beautiful canyon. The deep orange sand covered the ancient, crumbling rocks that lined the canyon walls. Tons of people scattered through out Grandpa Canyon digging and searching for the famous fossils the valley was known for.

Unexpectedly, Officer Jenny showed up with a silver whistle between her lips. She darted towards different people, blowing her whistle obnoxiously loud and telling them to leave the canyon.

"What's going on Officer Jenny?" I asked one of the numerous identical police officers.

"Digging for fossils was prohibited in Grandpa Canyon a few years ago. But ever since that recent discovery the number of diggers has been growing out of control," she sighed overwhelmed.

"Why is digging for fossils banned?" Amber asked in disappointment.

"This ravine is so old that a simple stake in the ground could make the floor beneath you crumble. We've had numerous cases where people get stuck underground and we have to call in a search party and everything. Some places are so narrow in this valley that we can't fit any machines down to help dig the people out," she explained, still breathing heavy from running around.

"But what about the fossils or the discoveries? No one is interested in knowing what Pokemon could have existed long ago?" Amber asked.

"Well, I'm sorry miss, but it's too dangerous," Officer Jenny shrugged then ran off to yell at more fossil scavengers.

"Well, I say if everyone else is digging you might as well too," I convinced her in a snicker. _Maybe she'll get stuck underground then I'll never have to see her again!_

"You're right, Kylie," Amber nodded, oblivious of my evil scheme.

"No she's not," Owen waved his arms frantically.

"One more person couldn't hurt," after that statement Amber sprinted off while Owen chased after her.

I wandered down to the lower part of the canyon. I watched all the people lift their sickles high in the air then hit them into the ground with all their might. I spotted a group of people in a far corner. Each person was dressed in a lab coat. The researchers had mining head lights strapped around their foreheads and held magnified glasses while they gazed at the ancient relics.

"Excuse me," an acute, hoarse voice interrupted my saunter from behind. I felt a light tap on the shoulder before turning around. I turned to see a man observing me through a large magnified glass. He looked ridiculous with one of his eyes enlarged. He had grey hair but the top of his head balding. He wore a knee length, white lab coat and khakis.

"Can I help you?" I asked to the odd, older man.

"Are you a Pokemon trainer?" he asked in his Scottish accent.

"Yes, yes I am!" I answered proudly.

"Do you have a Pokemon that could penetrate this wall of rock for us?" he asked pointing to a thin barricade of rock about twice my height. Other fossil examiners stood around the barrier, wondering how to knock it down. I placed my finger to my chin, thinking about which Pokemon I had that was strong enough to remove the obstacle.

"A water Pokemon will do delightfully," the man smiled showing perfectly aliened, glowing white, teeth.

"I have a Totodile," I told him showing the Pokeball in my hand.

"Perfect, that'll do fine," he pleasantly nodded.

"Totodile, knock down this wall with water gun," I told him once it had appeared outside its Pokeball. Totodile inhaled deeply before impacting the barricade with a water gun. The rock was blasted away with a small explosion and a loud bang. A cloud of dust caused us all to cough before seeing the annoyance had been kaput.

"Thank you so much," the man took my right hand and shook it roughly due to his excitement.

"No problem," I laughed, pulling back nervously. The researchers poured into the newly accessible section of Grandpa Canyon. This area was even more beautiful then the rest of the vast canyon. The aged columns bounded of ginger stone, crafted by mother nature herself, was a sight to see. The deep orange sand, the color of the sun as it begins to set on a summer evening, cushioned our feet. Bird Pokemon circled above and I felt as if I was in the middle of a western movie set. The build of the gorge was so amazing it looked as if it was all carefully and time consuming placed and designed by humans themselves.

"Wow," I gasped softly.

"The work of Pokemon and mother nature herself is quite delectable, isn't it?" the elder also gaped at the astonishing beauty.

I asked the wise professor, "This canyon was made by Pokemon?"

"It is believed so," he replied with a nod.

"What's that?" I asked after spotting a cute, brown, mole-like Pokemon with a skull surrounding its head and a bone its hand.

"That is a Cubone," the researcher informed me. "Its leg looks injured," he pointed to the gash on its hind leg.

"Let's check you out," I whispered to it soothingly as I took out my Pokedex.

_Cubone is a ground type Pokemon which wears its mother's skull after she dies. The skull around its head protects it from predators._

I knelt down, placing the Cubone in my lap. It attempted to squirm free but I locked it tightly in my arms. I began to pet its back, stroking it lightly to calm it down. The Cubone seemed to be situated when suddenly it whacked me over the head with its club.

"Knights of Columbus that hurt!" I exclaimed loudly while rubbing the bump that had formed on the top of my head.

"Stubborn little Pokemon they are," the old man giggled.

"Evidently," I commented. "Well there's no reason to be scared. I'm just trying to help," I spoke in a soft, velvety voice to calm the untamed Pokemon. "Everything is going to be just fine," I assured it.

"_Cubone_…" it spoke faintly. I picked some Potion out of my bag and sprayed it on the Cubone's cut. Next I unraveled a bandage and wrapped its wounded leg securely.

"Just stay off this leg okay?" I told it.

"_Cubone_," it smiled up at me then nuzzled against my shoulder.

"It seems to have taken a liking to you," the researcher noticed.

Officer Jenny hurried over and looked at all the diggers voyaging into the recently accessible area. "I heard an explosion, is everything all right over here?" Officer Jenny asked.

"We finally removed this wall so we can reach the lower part of the canyon," the balding, grey haired man explained to her.

"I'm truly sorry sir, but you and your assistants are going to have to leave," she told them sternly.

"Why is that?" he blubbered.

"Some goons from Team Rocket just showed up, their planning on blowing up the entire canyon," she explained to us all.

"Well then, we have to stop them!" I stood up and declared.

"There's no time! We have to evacuate and fast" Officer Jenny ordered.

"Got a problem? Problem vanished, because Ace is on the case!" the teenage detective leaped down from a rock, tie flapping behind him in the breeze.

"Ace, is that you!?" I exclaimed in amazement.

"Of course it's me! I am here to stop the sinister Team Rocket!" he placed his hands on his hips like a super hero.

"Hello Grandpa Canyon, welcome to the show," Jesse, James, and Meowth appeared in their Meowth hot air balloon.

"Stop it Team Rocket, if you blow up the canyon all the people here will get hurt!" I shouted angrily.

"Then move out of our way and no one gets hurt!" Jesse threatened.

"I command you to get rid of that dynamite and leave at once!" Officer Jenny ordered. Officer Jenny called in for back up on her walkie-talkie.

"Oh, we'll get rid of it alright," James sneered while holding a remote. The purple haired man pressed a blue button and descending from the bottom of their hot air balloon basket was a massive case labeled TNT.

"They're going to blow us all up!" a woman cried.

"Everybody run for your lives!" a man shouted and the group of miners sprinted away from the explosives.

"Bellsprout, come out and use razor leaf!" Ace shouted as he released a shinning Pokeball from his hand. His loyal Bellsprout popped out of the Pokeball and shot jagged leaves that sliced a hole in the Meowth head of Team Rockets' hot air balloon. The trio and their balloon basket crashed to the valley floor with an earth shaking bang. The olive green remote soared through the air and just so happened to land in Ace's hands. The teenage boy cocked his head to the side as he starred at the mysterious buttons on the controller.

"I wonder what this button does," he wondered before pushing the large, red button.

"Ace!" we yelled in unison.

The case of dynamite shrieked an ear shattering whistle before rays of golden light streamed from the gathering of explosives. With a thunderous boom the dynamite exploded and caused a gaping hole in the floor of the canyon to open up and swallow us all. Before we hit the bottom rocks tumbled down from the explosion and closed the hole off, so the drop to the center of the earth became pitch black.

The five of us screamed for our lives. I thought it could be the end, imagining a bubbly pool of lava below us that would melt us to our death. With a loud and painful thump the five of us hit the ground. I landed on my back and felt a wave of pain trickle down my spine. Limited amount of sun light peeked through the cracks of the rocks that closed us off from the canyon above.

I looked around to see we were in a cave between the center of the earth and the earth's crust. A chilly fog shifted within the small cavern and stalactites dripped grimy water from the ceiling. The cold, hard stone beneath our butts punctured our backs from when we hit the floor. Tears drew to my eyes from the thought that we would be stuck down here forever.

"Where are we?" Jesse shivered.

"Looks like some sort of cave," James observed and stated obviously.

"I know that!" Jesse punched the back of the man's head.

"We can't be stuck down here! Not today, not now!" I panicked. "I'll never get to be a Pokemon master," I wept.

"Everything bad always happens to the bad guys," Jesse and James sobbed as they held each other.

"Why can't good things happen to bad people?" Meowth joined in with their weep-a-thon.

"Good bye ice cream, good bye the sweet feeling of getting a new badge. Or that smell of a camp fire, my nice, soft bed, pizza is gone! It's all gone!" I listed on and on as I cried worried tears.

"Stop that, you're making me hungry," James whined while holding his empty stomach.

"Ahh, get this rat off me!" Jesse shouted as she shook a Pokemon off her leg.

"_Cubone…_" it mumbled in agony as it held its aching head.

"It's Cubone," I recognized then rushed over to its aide. "Cubone, are you alright?" I asked it in great concern.

"It looks really hurt," said Ace.

"Oh no, its leg is hurt again. I'll just solve that with some more Potion," I took the Potion out of my bag and carefully sprayed it on the wound. The bandage must have fallen off as we fell down into this gruesome cave. The Cubone winced as the medicine seeped into its skin. Surprisingly, the wild Pokemon swung his bone around and hit me over the head once again.

"Ow, stop that," I angrily demanded at the untamed Pokemon.

"It doesn't know any better," Ace commented.

Jesse blamed, "This all you twerps fault!"

"How is it our fault? You're the ones that set up the dynamite!" I yelled and pointed back at the triad of brainless crooks.

"If you just let us take all the fossils in the first place, none of this would have ever happened!" Jesse yelled irritated.

"You brats need to mind your own business," James clenched his fists furiously.

"If you stupid humans just stopped stealing back the Pokemon we steal, then we would've been gone a long time ago," Meowth growled.

"That's right, hand over that Charmander or else!" James ordered.

"You'll never get any of my Pokemon!" I cried.

"WILL EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!?" Ace shouted, shaking the walls of the grotto.

"NO!" we all replied heatedly.

"If it weren't for you we wouldn't be down here at all!" I shook overwhelmed with rage.

"Well, next time don't try and stop us," Jesse stood up and towered over me.

"Why are we fighting with twerpette when it's really this kids fault!?" Meowth interrupted and pointed to Ace. "He's the one that pressed the button that made the dynamite go off!"

"You're right! Let's get him!" Jesse ordered. The four of us slowly walked towards Ace, attempting to back him in a corner.

"I suggest you run little boy," James gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, before I get a chance to slice you up!" Meowth threatened then extended his sharp claws. Ace suddenly tripped over a mysterious shadow and poked it in curiosity. The shadow grew two, beaming, red eyes.

"It's alive!" Jesse cried as she and James hugged each other tightly in fright.

"Get away from it, Ace," I stammered.

Ace backed away from the odd figure and out of the darkness stepped four different looking Pokemon. One was almost as tall as me, with two razor sharp blades for hands, and rough, leather, brown skin. The one beside it was a mollusk like Pokemon with a brown shell and tiny, yellow arms. The two beside them were almost alike, both with tan shells and blue, slimy skin.

"We've got visitors," James shuddered.

"What are they?" I asked.

"That's the prehistoric Pokemon Kabuto and Kabutops," Meowth recognized.

"And Omanyte and Omastar," Ace added in.

"You have a Pokedex don't you? Quick, pull it out and see what it says," Jesse rushed me.

_Omanyte and Omastar, Kabuto and Kabutops, it is said that these Pokemon have been extinct for tens and thousands of years. Although the details of these Pokemon are shrouded by mystery some believe these Pokemon still exist._

"Once again we have our chance to scoop up these prehistoric Pokemon and sell them all!" Jesse thought devilishly.

"We didn't get you last time! But this time you have no where to run!" James laughed victoriously.

"Amazing, we are actually looking at prehistoric Pokemon!" Ace exclaimed astounded by their exterior as he observed them through a magnified glass.

"Don't touch them kid!" Jesse slapped the wanna-bee-detective over the head.

"Hands off the merchandise!" James demanded. While Team Rocket and Ace argued over the group of Pokemon I watched their drowsy expressions. Their blood shot eyes grew more intense as the volume of our voices increased.

"Let me just get a quick picture of each," Ace told us as he snapped a photo of the Kabutops. The flash from the Polaroid camera that hung around his neck woke the four Pokemon from their sleep-like spell. The prehistoric Pokemon began to chase after us.

"Way to go kid! That flash from the camera woke them up!" Meowth snarled angrily.

"Run for it!" I screamed as the four ancient Pokemon chased after us. We sprinted around the cavern, Kabutops, Kabuto, Omanyte, and Omastar hunting after us the entire time.

"We can't escape them!" I cried looking back at the Pokemon gaining on us. "You two," I directed towards Team Rocket.

"Us?" they gasped at the same time.

"Use your Pokemon to fight back," I told them.

"I can't run any longer, send them out already!" Meowth commanded at his two human friends.

"Seviper, fossilize these fiends, now!" Jesse chucked her Seviper's Pokeball, and it emerged from the white light, facing the ancient group of Pokemon.

"Cacnea, show these hoodlums whose boss!" James also tossed his Pokeball that contain his Cacnea. To my surprise, Cacnea did not latch onto James' side like usual.

"Seviper, use poison sting!" Jesse instructed abruptly.

"Use pin missile, Cacnea," James followed. Cacnea and Seviper both fired their attacks hitting the ground before the four ground and water type Pokemon. A layer of dust blocked the Pokemon's view of the five of us running away.

"If you never took those pictures none of this would have ever happened!" James shouted at Ace as we plastered ourselves against the cave wall, Kabutops and gang cornering us.

"This is it," I muttered depressed.

"Good bye world!" James and Jesse sobbed as they hugged each other once again.

Unexpectedly, Cubone stepped forward and nodded at me confidentially. The four prehistoric Pokemon looked at each other and laughed at the pimp squeak Pokemon stepping up to them.

"Cubone, you're leg is well enough?" I asked him.

"_Cubone!_" he saluted us in assurance.

"Alright then, hit them with your bonemerang attack," I told him, clenching my fists tightly out of hope. Cubone launched his bone towards the Pokemon. It hit each of the four ancient Pokemon on the head and they ran back into the shade of the cave in a panic.

"Great job, Cubone!" I picked up the adorable Pokemon to congratulate it. Once again, the Cubone hit me over the head with his bone and chuckled.

"You sure are a stubborn Pokemon," I told him.

"Ha-rah, ha-rah, now let's get out of here!" Jesse yelled impatiently.

"Ok, Ace you still have your Bellsprout right?" I asked him before he nodded yes. "Then everyone tell your Pokemon to aim their attack at the roof of the cave," I explained.

"Go Seviper!" Jesse ordered.

"Cubone, rock smash," I told him.

"Cacnea, go!" James yelled.

"Razor leaf, Bellsprout!" shouted Ace.

Seviper's poison sting, Cacnea's pin missile, Cubone's rock smash, and Bellsprout's razor leaf, all hit the boulders above that blocked off the roof of the cave. The rocks blew up and crumbled to the bottom of the cavern. Officer Jenny and her team eventually got us all out of the cave and on the solid, safe ground.

"Men, I want you to place these three under arrest for intentions of stealing and damage to historic and public property," Officer Jenny instructed to her assistant officers.

"You have the right to remain silent," one of the men dressed in blue informed the three crooks. He walked over and attempted to place handcuffs on the team of thieves but they just sprinted away with their arms frantically waving in the air.

"Let them run," Jenny told her fellow officers.

"That'll be punishment enough," I joked.

"I wonder what this button does," Ace picked up Team Rocket's old remote and placed his finger on a big yellow button.

"DON'T PRESS THAT!" we cried in unison.

Too late, Ace pushed the button and another gaping hole appeared gulping all the other travelers' bags that were set aside. The crowd glared angrily at the dim-witted teenage boy who smiled nervously.

"I can figure out where they went. I'm great at solving mysteries. After all, I am a junior detective and volunteer assistant to the assistant of the assistant's assistant at the official Pokemon court," Ace rambled.

"GET HIM!" they all shouted and chased the boy out of Grandpa Canyon, holding pitch forks and torches. Next thing I knew, Amber and Owen appeared out of no where.

"Well, now that Team Rocket and Ace are gone we have no further danger to worry about," Officer Jenny chuckled.

"Does this mean that digging is no longer forbidden?" Amber asked full of hope.

"I'm sorry but it is still too dangerous, especially after what happened today," Officer Jenny apologized. Amber slouched in disappointment.

"All that trouble for nothing, I'm really sorry for delaying your travels Kylie," Amber turned and apologized.

"No problem," I told her. _Yeah, I almost died today and four expired monsters almost ate me alive, but really, it's no big deal_.

"Good luck on your journey," Officer Jenny told us.

"Thanks," I smiled.

We looked back over Grandpa Canyon to see its natural beauty had been restored since all the miners had left. The sun began to set after the long, exhausting day and we stood facing Amber, ready to say good-bye.

"So where are you heading next?" Owen asked Amber in great interest.

"I just got a text message a while ago from my friend saying there had been some big mining groups gathering around the Rock Tunnel near Lavender Town. They suspect there are some really good evolution stones to be found there," she informed us.

"Heading all the way back to Lavender Town, huh? That's a long ways," I said to her.

"It'll be worth it," she smiled warmly. "Bye Owen," she whispered softly to him and gave him a light kiss on the lips. She then surprised the both of us by giving me a gentle, friendly hug, "Good bye Kylie, nice seeing you again,"

"You too, Amber," I patted her tenderly on the back in the awkward moment.

"See you guys later," she waved as she turned around and the both of us began to walk away.

"Is that a tear in your eye, Owen?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"No, it's just the dust from the stupid canyon. It's irritating my eyes," he rubbed his watering eyes.

"Uh huh, sure," I chuckled. "Hey, what's that?" I turned back and saw over the hill, Cubone hobbling his way towards us. He stopped once he reached the peak of the tiny hill and saluted us with his bone. He raced towards us, limping on his bad leg, but that didn't slow him down. I knelt down on one knee and the ground type Pokemon collapsed into my arms. I lifted him up off the ground and snuggled him against my chest. I squinted my eyes and turned my head slightly, preparing myself for the whack over my head from Cubone's bone. I was surprised to see the Pokemon starring up at me, eyes glistening and smile broader then I had ever seen before.

"Would you like to come along with me Cubone?" I asked it.

"_Cubone!_" it replied happily.

"Well then, welcome to the family!" I croaked with tears building up in my eyes. Unexpectedly, he clubbed me over the head once again with his bone. "What was that for?" I gasped angrily.

"I like this Pokemon," Owen folded his arms with a pleased smirk across his face.

"Just because it beats me over the head," I narrowed my eyes at the blonde haired boy.

"I'll take him off your hands for ya'," Owen yanked the Pokemon from my hands and pulled it closely to his chest.

"No way," I snatched the Pokemon back. "You're just jealous of my new Pokemon,"

"Well, it's about time you finally caught another one," Owen teased.

"Shut up, I take my time to get to know each one of my Pokemon, and train them as much as possible before catching my next." I explained swiftly. "I'm going to be the best fire Pokemon trainer in the world! You'll see!" I screamed in his face then began sprinting crazily down the road, arms waving in the air while Cubone hobbled behind. "YOU'LL SEE!"


	51. Ditto's Transformation Complication

Chapter 51

"I'm just saying if Sentret idolizes Furret as mush as you say he does, he would've evolved into a Furret a long time ago," I argued. Owen and I were having a discussion about one of the popular kids cartoons called _Sentret and Furret_, but our quarrel came to a stop when we saw a girl from up ahead waving to us. We leisurely made our way towards the teenage girl. She was very tall with straight, auburn hair and braces. She had a stout nose and freckles scattered across her cheek bones. She wore a purple hoodie with a skull across the front and dark, blue, skinny jeans. I loved her shoes which were white with rainbow colored hearts distributed all over her canvas shoes. I really liked her sense of style.

"I'm sorry to stop you both but I ran out of Antidote and my Ditto seems really sick," she explained gesturing down to a short, pink glob.

"Ditto?" I questioned and seized Dexter from its pocket.

_Ditto has the ability to reconstitute its entire cellular structure to transform into anything it sees._

"That's amazing," I said in awe.

"_Ditto…_" the Pokemon mumbled weakly and sickly.

"I have some Antidote you can have," Owen took the healer out of his backpack pocket and handed it to the girl.

"Thanks so much. I really, really appreciate this," she knelt down and sprayed the medicine onto the blob-like Pokemon.

"How did it get hurt?" I asked her.

"In a battle against another trainer. You see, I'm trying to enter the Pokemon League with my Ditto here. So we've been training real hard, but Ditto doesn't seem to want to transform into other Pokemon during battle," she explained sadly.

"So, it doesn't want to or it can't?" I tried to clarify.

"I'm not sure," she shook her head piteously. "Whenever I try and use Ditto in a battle it just tries to attack the opponent by hitting it, body slamming it, or something. It just doesn't seem to work,"

"Strange," Owen crossed his arms in thought.

"I love my Ditto and I know we could win some gym battles if he just learned to transform," she pat the healed normal type Pokemon on the head. "But I'm not sure how to. It just gets hurt in all its battles, and I don't want to make it suffer,"

"I'm sure there's some solution. We'll do whatever it takes to help your Ditto learn to transform," I assured the girl.

"Ahem, Kylie," Owen coughed then pulled me aside. "The ferry for Cinnabar Island is leaving this afternoon. If we help this girl we'll miss it," he whispered.

"Helping out a fellow trainer is more important then making some stupid ferry, we can figure out how to get there later," I yanked my arm from his grip and walked back over to the girl.

"Thanks for your help. By the way, my name is Gabby," she introduced.

"The name's Kylie and this is Owen," I established. "Well, we better get to work if we want your Ditto to transform," I knelt down and smiled at the Ditto who pulled back nervously.

"No need to be nervous Ditto. These people are our new friends," Gabby soothed the uneasy Pokemon.

"_Ditto…_" it muttered then crawled up onto Gabby's shoulder.

"Ditto, please, they just want to help us," Gabby told it becoming frustrated.

"Let's start off with something easy," I began then sent Charmander from his Pokeball. "Hey Ditto, do you think you could transform into my Charmander?" I asked it kindly.

"_Ditto!_" it cried as it covered its eyes and hid behind Gabby's leg in fear.

"Maybe Charmander could find out why Ditto is so afraid," Gabby brainstormed.

"At least it's something," Owen muttered irritated.

"Charmander, buddy, please ask Ditto why he's so scared," I asked the chipper fire Pokemon. Charmander casually walked up to the petrified Ditto and began talking to it. I could see Ditto's face becoming more relaxed and the pink Pokemon started to participate in the conversation. Charmander quickly turned and smiled at me happily.

"_Char, Char, Charmander-Char. Char-Char, Charmander, Char!_" my starter Pokemon explained.

"Charmander says that Ditto doesn't want to transform because he wants to battle just as it is and doesn't think it needs to change in order to win. He's too afraid that he'll never be the same if he transforms," I translated.

"Awww, is that true Ditto?" Gabby snuggled her Pokemon.

"_Ditto!_" it chimed gleefully.

"Since when can you understand Pokemon?" Owen questioned in disbelief.

"My Charmander and I have a close bond!" I argued.

"Since when?" Owen teased. "Well anyway, that's stupid. What Ditto doesn't want to transform? It would be awesome if humans could turn into anything they wanted," Owen disagreed. "This thing has a gift and you're throwing it away?"

"Men," Gabby rolled her eyes.

"They're so inconsiderate," I spat while folding my arms.

"Who me?" clueless Owen pointed to himself.

"No the one behind you!" I shouted intolerantly. Owen turned around to see no body was standing there. I slapped my palm to my forehead watching his stupidity.

I placed my hand on Gabby's shoulder, "I say if Ditto wants to battle as it is, let it," I told her.

"Ditto, would you like to try again?" Gabby asked her Ditto. "And this time I promise I won't tell you to transform," she assured it.

"_Ditto! Ditto!_" Ditto happily replied.

"Alright Charmander, let's do this," I formed a fist with my hand.

"_Char-Char!_" he responded while hugging my calf.

"Start things off with a tackle attack, Ditto!" Gabby instructed. Ditto charged towards Charmander at a slow speed since it had to squirm its way towards him.

"Scratch attack!" I shouted. When Ditto arrived in front of Charmander the lizard-like Pokemon slashed the pink glob causing it to cry, full of shame and humiliation. Ditto waddled its way back over to Gabby and hid behind her leg, crying like a waterfall.

"_Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!_" it wept.

"It's alright Ditto, I know you can do this!" Gabby hugged the unconfident Ditto and encouraged it.

"You can do it Ditto!" I assured it.

"_Char, Char!_" Charmander cheered.

"We all believe in you Ditto," Gabby told it in a velvety, soft voice.

"I don't," Owen snickered.

"No one asked you!" I shouted angrily, smacking him over the head.

"Tackle again Ditto!" Gabby commenced.

"Let's go easy on it this time, okay Charmander?" I whispered to him and it flashed me a thumbs up. Ditto gradually made his way towards Charmander. "Don't dodge it," I told him ironically. Ditto cautiously and softly bumped into Charmander and the fire type Pokemon over dramatically spun to the ground and closed his eyes, pretending to be fainted.

"Great job Ditto, you did it!" Gabby exclaimed filled with pride.

"_Ditto,_" the squishy Pokemon smiled modestly.

"Houndoom, come on out," I opened up its Pokeball and the sleek, black wolf looking Pokemon emerged from the fiery, red light.

"Houn-DOOOM!" it howled into the late morning sky.

"Houndoom, we're going to let Ditto win okay?" I whispered undertone. Houndoom tilted his head to the side puzzled. "Just don't hurt the Ditto,"

"Attack the Houndoom with a double-slap," Gabby commanded nicely. Ditto slid over and slumped before Houndoom who just sat there waiting for the attack. Ditto suddenly struck Houndoom twice across the snout then trotted back over next to Gabby. Houndoom twirled in circles while howling like it was about to die. Houndoom crashed to the ground significantly and lie motionless as if it were unconscious. Ditto leaped into the air happily, proud that it had "beaten" two Pokemon already.

"Houndoom, return," I returned the acting Pokemon to his Pokeball. "Next Pokemon I will use is Cubone!" I tossed Cubone's Pokeball onto the grass.

"_Cubone! Cubone!_" the ground type Pokemon saluted the air with its bone.

"Let's loose this one, okay Cubone?" I asked it, feeling weird about wanting to loose a battle. Cubone snuffed, ignoring my order and chucked his bone at Ditto's head. The bone bounced off Ditto's goopy skin but still made it cry.

"Cubone, I said let's loose this battle, not win it!" I yelled frustrated. Cubone scratched the back of his head with his bone in embarrassment.

"Ditto, it was just one hit. Won't you please go back out there and finish the battle, please?" Gabby begged. Ditto wiped the tears from under its eyes then marched back out on the field.

"Go Ditto! Use tackle once more!" Gabby shouted. Ditto charged towards Cubone, determination and confidence coursing through its eyes. Unpredictably, Ditto was stopped by a claw which grabbed it from above. Charmander was also trapped in one of these claws which lead up to who other then Team Rocket's hot air balloon.

"Who are they? Why do they have my Ditto?" Gabby cried.

"They're Team Rocket," Owen informed.

"Those guys go around stealing other peoples' Pokemon," I explained.

"And you have the pleasure of hearing the famous Team Rocket motto!" Jesse squealed. "Bringing chaos at a break neck pace," Jesse recited.

"Dashing all hope and putting fear in its place," James followed.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet!" exclaimed Jesse.

"When everything is worse our work is complete," James said while holding a fresh rose in his hand.

"Jesse!" the young woman flashed a peace sign.

"And James!" the youthful man winked.

"Meowth's my name," the loyal, evil minded, cat popped his head out of the balloon basket and joined in.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jesse pointed to the three of us.

"Team Rocket, we're in your face!" the three of them finished together.

"Bravo, bravo," Owen sarcastically clapped.

"Give back our Pokemon," I demanded while gritting my teeth.

"Never," the trio stuck out there tongues rudely. Ditto and Charmander both attempted to squirm free of the metal claws' grip, but they were securely locked.

"Cubone, hit the balloon with your bonemerang," I told it. Cubone was ready to launch his bone at the balloon but Meowth, controlling the grabbing machine, sent another claw which snatched up Cubone too.

"This looks bad," I muttered in distress.

Owen narrowed his eyes and responded mockingly, "No, everything is just dandy,"

"Ditto, you must do something!" Gabby cried.

Jesse shrieked with laughter, "Looks like the twerps finally twerped out,"

"Too bad," Meowth smirked.

"But we're glad," James rhymed. The gang began to float away when we perceived Ditto wrapping its flexible body around the metal claw and constricting it as hard as it could.

"Ditto is using bind!" Gabby exclaimed in thrill, tears appearing in her glistening, proud eyes. "Keep it up Ditto," she cheered. Ditto persevered and eventually his mighty bind shattered the clenching claw.

"Oh no, he escaped!" Meowth yelped. "No problem, I'll just catch it with another one," Meowth pushed a lever forward on his remote control and another extending arm with a hand on the end came forward attempting to snatch Ditto. Fire burning within itself, Ditto charged forward and astoundingly crushed the Pokemon capturing machine. Charmander and Cubone were let free and safely landed on the ground. Ditto plumped onto the ground and glared at Team Rocket with a menacing grin.

"Ditto, use fury swipes," Gabby instructed gladly. Ditto soared into the air and landed on Team Rocket's well-filled balloon. The light Pokemon almost bounced right off the helium Meowth head but grabbed a hold of the fabric and slit a hole in it with a few swipes. Ditto flew backwards as Team Rocket and their hot air balloon deflated through the air, winding in every direction before crashing to the forest ground in the distance.

"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again," I chuckled and we all shared a laugh.

"I'm sorry I made you miss the ferry to Cinnabar Island," Gabby apologized in regret.

"It's no problem," I smiled.

"Yes it is," Owen fluctuated knowingly.

"Shut up," I growled. "You and your big, annoying, not helpful what so ever, mouth always have to be right don't they?"

"That's because I'm always right!" Owen swung his arms in the air, unaware of his aggravating, excessive pride.

"You have no clue at all," I groaned in aggravation.

"You're the one without a clue," Owen fired back.

"Oh, that come back really stung," I mocked.

"There's really no reason to fight," Gabby pulled back nervously.

"She just likes to fight with me because she has to find something wrong with me," Owen shrugged ignorantly.

"Oh please, like you're mister perfect," I rolled my eyes.

"I dare you to name one, I mean just one, bad quality about me and I'll shut up for the rest of the day,"

"Like you'd be able to do that? You have to open your mouth every time something doesn't go the way you want it to,"

"I-" Owen began.

I interrupted, "Face it Owen, you shower yourself with in your own egotistical, sarcastic, demon mind, to make yourself feel better and so you don't realize that you aren't perfect,"

"I should get going…" Gabby gradually tip toed away.

"Oh, c'mon Kylie, grow up," he sighed.

"As long as I'm a kid I can do what ever I want," I stuck my tongue at him.

"Fine, if you don't want me to talk anymore and think I'm so unhelpful and lazy, I won't tell you where to go and you'll have to find the way to Cinnabar Island yourself," Owen crossed his arms.

I glanced at the boy filled with anger and irritation, "Fine, I'll get us there all by myself."


	52. The Silent Treatment

**A/N: I know that last part with Owen and Kylie fighting in the chapter before was sorta confusing so basically Owen and Kylie made a bet that Owen couldn't talk before Kylie got them to Cinnabar Island, if that makes any sense lol. So anywho, enjoy and don't forget to review! :D**

Chapter 52

I gripped the map tightly causing it to scrunch in the center and make it more difficult to read. I spun it in all directions possible but couldn't figure out which was the top and which was the bottom. To me the map just looked like an over sized piece of paper with a massive green dot on it. The names of towns and routes blended together and I felt as if I was reading a foreign language. I peered over the top of the piece of paper to see the back of Owen's head. He trotted along carelessly while typically sticking his hands into his jean pockets. I grunted in annoyance and continued starring at the diagram. Eventually, I had lost hope and pretended to look at the map like I knew exactly where I was going.

I knew Owen wanted to ask if I distinguished wherever I was leading us but he promised he wouldn't speak, so he maintained that no matter how hard it was for him not to insult me. I folded up the drawing of the Kanto region and cautiously stuck it in the rear pouch of Owen's backpack without him realizing. I sped ahead of the blonde haired boy and he just glimpsed at me jogging by. He then carried on with his daydreams, looking out at the waving hills of the farmland we journeyed through. Tall sun flowers at the peak of their season kissed the dully glowing, autumn sun. I felt as if we were trying to escape from a corn maze, with no map, no sense of direction, and in this case, no intelligence. Owen usually provided that portion.

I figured we would get lost eventually so I thought of a devious plan to get Owen to loose our bet. If I got him to talk he would have to guide me to Cinnabar Island anyway. I knew he knew where it was but he just lolly-gagged in whatever direction I told him to walk. _Maybe if I say some really stupid stuff, he'll have to make fun of me since he just can't refuse the urge of a good burn_, I thought cleverly to myself.

"Hey Owen, aren't these flowers pretty? What are they called again? Lily pads I'm positive," I remarked stupidly. He intentionally looked away, smacking his lips together so he wouldn't burst out with an insult. "I'm such a good trainer and I'm just so talented, and so funny! Not to mention the most beautiful thing this side of Kanto has ever seen," I deliberated.

Owen's face gradually turned magenta as if he was holding his breathe in order not to speak. His cheeks filled up like a blowfish and he began to shake from the craving of wanting to abuse me with his harsh, sarcastic words.

I began to speak in a horribly impersonated British accent, "Cheerios is my favorite cereal, don't you agree ol' chap?" I leaned over and rested my chin on his shoulder. He began to walk hastily but I caught up with the teenage boy shouting dim-witted remarks at him. This boy will not crack!

The middle of the day arrived quickly and we came across a small farming village in a clearing of the sun flowers and wheat fields. I over heard Owen's stomach growl noisily and the boy covered his abdomen in embarrassment. I puffed out a chuckle then helped him search for a suitable restaurant to eat at. I spotted a shop that specialized in fire type and bug type Pokemon. I got lost in all of the different foods and shampoos you could use on the variation of fire type breeds. Since we've never had a Pokemon breeder in our group, Owen and I have always just bought the cheapest food instead of making the best and most nutritional for our Pokemon. You could call it laziness, or you could call it inexperienced.

I turned around to ask Owen for some money to buy a particular Pokemon food but he was no where in the store. I checked my messenger bag pocket for some money and frowned when it appeared empty. At that time I had let Charmander out of his Pokeball so he to could check out all the cool supplies. I asked him in a whisper where the missing boy might be.

Charmander simply yawned while sitting on my shoulder.

I put the can of feed back on the shelf and exited the store at a steady pace. I twisted my head in all directions, scanning for Owen anywhere in town. The dirt streets were empty and the western farm houses creaked as a slight wind bustled by. I heard a loud, drawn out creak close by and turned to see a swinging sign that read "Restaurant" I had a feeling Owen had scurried in there without telling me. Oh yeah, how could he?

I swung the western styled doors open to the side and clanked into the center of the pint sized tavern. A scruffy, old man chewing tobacco, standing behind the bar menacingly glared at me as I searched for the boy's catching-eye blonde hair. Other scruffy town folk all watched me stand there aimlessly. They clanged to their beer handles and chomped away at their tobacco. I sweat nervously and grinned uneasily as I anxiously poked my head around the corner. Luckily, I found Owen sitting in the far corner, rubbing his full stomach after belting out a disgustingly loud burp.

"Nice one," I sarcastically complimented. He smiled proudly. "I need some money," I put my hand out to receive a few dollar bills. Owen shrugged. "Don't tell me you spent it all on your lazy stomach!" I shouted angrily and placed my hands on my hips.

"Is this lil' lady givin' you trouble?" a drunken cowboy asked Owen. He waved his arms no reassuringly to the disturbed men.

"These your new friends?" I raised a brow with a chuckle of disbelief. The cocky teenager stretched his arms behind his head and smiled. "We need to get going," I told him tapping my wrist where my old flame watch once was. He shrugged sluggish. "You're still not talking? Do you _want_ me to lead us into the middle of no where?" I asked in annoyance. He got up gradually and placed a tooth pick in his mouth and began to chew on it, twirling it around with his tongue.

I tugged him out of the antique pub by his wrist and once again we began to walk beside the path lined by corn fields. As the sun grew hotter we walked slower. Charmander panted softly as he perched on my back. Owen trailed behind and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stuck out his tongue carelessly.

"So hot…" I mumbled in agony. Sweat dangled from the tip of my nose and greased my dark, brown hair. Perspiration dried from under my arm pits and the back of my knees throbbed from the continuous walking. "Must… sit… down…" without meaning to, I collapsed right onto the dry dirt. The almost poop colored dust stuck to my wet skin. I squinted my eyes to see Owen also collapsed to the ground. I felt like I couldn't move. My legs turned to solid stone and my head stopped the flow of blood so my arms grew numb. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and then, everything went black.

"Kylie? Kylie?" a godly voice woke me in a whisper. "Kylie, hun, are you alright?"

"Wahh?" I mumbled as I slowly opened my weak eyes. I blinked a few times to make my vision clear. I looked up to see Penny kneeling next to me. She had a deeply concerned expression.

"Oh my god Kylie, you scared me so much! Ok, so me and Jackson were just walking along when we see these two kids like… unconscious on the ground! So, I was like 'Holy crap!' and ran over to see it was you and Owen! So, I was like 'Jackson! What do we do?' and he was all anti, so then, I just started saying your name and like slapping you on the face and finally you woke up! Holy crap Kylie, you had me so worried!" Penny speedily rambled.

"What happened? Where are we?" I asked feebly. My voiced cracked and my throat croaked from the stinging parchedness in my mouth. I waved my arms effortlessly through the humid air in front of my face. Penny backed away so she wouldn't get hit by my meaningless flap of the wrist.

"Penny, are you there?" I muttered in a dreamy state while continuing to wave my arms around slightly. Out of irritation, Penny grabbed my wrist and put my arms at my side.

"Jackson! Get your jackass over here!" Penny screamed openly. Penny turned to me and giggled, "Ha, that's a pun!"

Jackson dragged Owen over by the feet who was also in a dream like condition. Owen giggled obnoxiously while continually glaring at me. My consciousness was growing and I looked around to see we were mysteriously lying on a beach coasting a busy town with a pier near by. The wooden pier with metal columns supporting it, extended all the way out into the ocean where massive cruise like ships docked.

I got up and once again panned at my surroundings, "Penny…" I started in confusion and apprehension. "How the heck did we end up on a beach?"

"What are you talking about?" Penny snorted with a chuckle like I was insane.

"We found you guys lying on the beach," Jackson informed in true sincerity. My eyes widened in fear and shock. Yet I remained puzzled. Well of course, I mean, how the heck did Owen and I move from an over heating field to a city with a beach? To my utter dismay, in the distance I spotted something beyond words. I blinked my eyelids closed tightly multiple times and still saw it. I continued to rub my eyes until I realized what I saw was really there, no matter how terrifying and confusing it was.

"Oh… my… god…" I muttered in baffling shock.


	53. A Night Alone With Lucien

**A/N: You guys have been awesome with the reviews! Thanks so much! Keep up the good work and enjoy! :D**

Chapter 53

"What is it, Kylie?" Jackson asked in confusion, trying to spot what I was starring at and was so stunned by. I scrambled to my feet, dusting the damp sand off my butt. I walked towards it at first, still accepting the object my eyes were registering to my brain. I stopped in my tracks almost causing myself trip in the unstable sand. Right before my very eyes what I thought I had seen just a second ago had disappeared into oblivion. The old familiar woman draped in pink shawls and a magenta veil wrapped around her brisk, white hair. The appalling golden high heels and the matching headband with the amethyst gem centered on her forehead, all of it disappeared. My jaw dropped in awe and once again I rubbed my eyes roughly to reconnect with reality. Penny smoothly walked her way over and stood next to me, squinting her eyes to make out what I was looking at.

"What are we looking at?" she asked, still seeking to find the old woman.

"I could've sworn I just saw… never mind," I mumbled with my head bowing deep in thought.

"Saw what!? Tell me!" Penny anxiously jumped up and down while tugging on my arm impatiently.

"Do you promise not tell anyone?" I asked her in a whisper.

"Sure," she agreed quietly.

"Secret ankle shake?"

"Secret ankle shake!" Penny commenced. The both of us put our hands together, beginning the first stage of the very long and complex secret hand shake. We slapped our palms together in a patty-cake manner 4 times before tapping our elbows together one after the other. Next, we nudged our shoulders against one another then slapped our own thighs while criss-crossing our wrists 4 times also. To conclude the ankle shake, we stood beside one another then bent over and shook the opposite person's ankle.

"This must be pretty juicy if it calls for an ankle shake," Penny chuckled faintly.

"Well, when I first started out on my journey I met a Fortune Teller," I informed the eager 14 year old girl.

"Dude, that reminds me of this one time when I was in Dewford Town! So, I was walking along when I noticed I had gum on my shoe and I was all 'Ewwww, gross!'" I shushed her before she continued any longer. She cowered down and remained quiet as I finished my story.

"Continuing!" I cleared my throat. "So, she read my fortune and told me that I would meet my true love in a few days,"

"Did you?" Penny asked keenly.

"That's the thing, I don't know," I starred down at my sand covered converses. "And just now, I thought I saw her standing on the pier,"

"You were probably still just a little loopy from fainting or whatever," Penny shrugged.

"You're probably right," I smiled. To be honest, I don't think that was the reason. I have a strange feeling that the fortune teller will be more of a trouble than I bargained for.

After lunch the four of us headed for the dock, once discovering that Penny and Jackson were also going to Cinnabar Island. We leisurely walked up to a sailor which guarded the rope that blocked off the metal walkway. The fold out ramp extended towards the entrance of a ferry. The sailor stood tall, pointing out his rather large gut. He wore his blue and white sailor uniform proudly, stuffing his broad chin out into the air, with an undying scowl across his somber face.

"Hello sir," Penny greeted kindly. His face remained still like a Buckingham palace guard. "Do you know if any of these ferries are going to Cinnabar Island?" Penny asked politely.

The sailor snorted in disgust, "Kids these days, never prepared for what they're doing or where they're heading,"

"Watch it buddy, or that ship could sink in an instant," Penny snapped.

The sailor pulled back nervously, "Uh, no, the last ship for Cinnabar left yesterday,"

We all groaned together in disappointment.

"No other ships are going anywhere near Cinnabar?" I exhaled let down.

"I'm afraid not," the seaman replied heartlessly.

"Did you say you need a way to get to Cinnabar Island?" a hoarse, raspy voice asked from behind.

We turned to see a short, old woman glaring at us with intense, straining eyes. She seriously came up to my waist and had faded black hair with a few clumps of grey in her tightly pulled back bun. The aging woman wore a plain, maroon T-shirt with green Bermuda shorts. Worn, black sneakers covered her tiny feet and a wrinkly grin was plastered across her crinkly face.

"Who are you?" Penny and Jackson interrogated at the same moment, then looked at one another and flushed.

"The name's Gloria, and I am the chief of The Race to Cinnabar Island," she explained with a chuckle.

"The wosa-whatsa?" I repeated unthinkingly.

"The Race to Cinnabar Island," Gloria repeated kindly. "In teams of two, trainers race from this beach to Cinnabar Island. It's been held every year for the last 75 years,"

"Sounds like fun," I commented.

"So, what do you get if you win?" Penny asked greedily.

"The prize varies each year," Gloria answered.

"You said in teams of two, but still, how do you get there?" Jackson asked while scratching his head.

"We provide you with materials to make a canoe. You are allowed to use your party of Pokemon to help carve your little boat, then off you sail to the island," Gloria glided her hand forward while making a whistling noise.

"You guys, we should compete," I remarked eagerly.

"I am not touching some dirty hunk of wood! I mean that sounds like work and I do not want to sweat," Penny refused.

"Hey Penny, I'll enter it with you," Jackson insisted.

"No way, if I'm partnering up with anybody it's Kylie!" Penny wrapped her shoulder around me obliviously.

"Why don't you partner up with Owen?" I suggested. The two looked at each other with a smile then gave each other an agreeing high five.

"The contest is tomorrow so get your best night's sleep," Gloria told us with a warm smile.

"We will," Jackson assured her with a friendly grin.

"Thanks for everything," Penny waved good-bye as the elderly woman began to walk off the pier.

Later, as the sun began to set, a large of group of trainers invited us to sit with them around a camp fire on the beach. We gathered around the roaring bond fire while sitting on stiff rocks or collapsed trunks of trees. The other trainers were extremely friendly but not the creepy kind. They offered us supper and the four of us gladly accepted the free food. The group exchanged tales of their journeys and funny occurrences they've experienced in the past.

After the gathering of kids finished eating two boys across from us in the circle placed acoustic guitars in their laps. Another boy beside them drew his elaborate, silver harmonica from his sweatshirt pocket. The three of them announced to the cluster they were going to share a song they wrote with us. I folded my hands on top of my knees as I leaned forward in interest to hear their gently played music. One boy with brown hair and a grey sweatshirt and a navy blue baseball cap on top of his long, narrow head commenced the song with a pattern of calming chords on his worn guitar. The other next to him had light brown, shoulder length hair with black jeans clenching to his twig-like legs. He wore a black and white stripped sweatshirt and had distracting blue cloudy eyes. This boy joined in with the other combining their chords to form gorgeous melodies that hummed us all into a peaceful trance.

Since it was dark I wasn't able to notice before but the boy with the baseball cap on was in fact Lucien! I felt stupid for not noticing because a blue and purple stripped Spinarak sat at his feet, it's kind of a given. I refrained myself from saying anything until later that night when the group had separated and settled in for the night.

"I have to go pee," Jackson announced.

"That's wonderful," I commented sarcastically.

"Penny, will you go into town with me real quick to use the bathroom?" Jackson asked as he covered his crotch with his hands.

"I refuse to step foot in a disgusting public restroom," Penny said as she stared at her nails.

"Fine," Jackson hissed as he shot up from his seat then trudged towards the pier.

"Oh wait, I have to take out my contacts! Jackson, wait up!" Penny remembered then chased after the boy.

Owen silently slipped under the covers of his synthetic sleeping bag, so the close was clear. The other trainers were slowly departing the premises near the dying bond fire. The crescent moon was at its peak and the cool air drifted in from the salty ocean water. I spotted Lucien placing his guitar in its taut, black guitar case. I rubbed my knee anxiously while thinking in my head of something to say to him once I approached him. I inhaled deeply and unpredictably began to shake from nervousness. _Kylie, it's not like you're saying some speech in front of a bajillion people, it's just Lucien_, I calmed myself.

I walked up to the boy who was clipping the guitar case closed with the golden clamps on both ends. He then fidgeted with numerous sheets of papers in his hands, not looking up from his packing of music equipment, so he did not spot me standing before him. I coughed gently to catch his attention. He looked up casually to see me smiling.

"Kylie," he said. I frowned thinking he wasn't excited to see me. "It's so great to see you!" he shot up from his seat immediately but was caught in an awkward contemplation. I could tell he didn't know what to do with himself, hug me, kiss me, shake my hand, they were all options but even Lucien couldn't decide.

"Funny, I didn't even see you over there," he chuckled.

"Yeah, I noticed you during the song but I didn't want to interrupt," I told him.

"Guess the sky is just so dark tonight…" Lucien gazed up at the half-faced moon.

After a long pause I finally fished a random question from my thoughtless head. "Are you going to bed?" I asked him.

"I wasn't planning on it. We can still chill by the fire if you want," he proposed captivatingly. Without a word I simply sat down on the sturdy, hollow log, Lucien followed. He sat there on the opposite end, placing his sheets of music on top of his guitar case. The gentle wind almost blew them away but he was fortunate enough to have caught them before they drifted into the dark ocean. I avoided eye contact with the boy, the strange, discomfited moment caused me to grow nauseous. After all this time I wasn't sure if he still had feelings for me or not. _By this time he's probably met some other girls, he's probably over me._

The two of us sat there gazing at the fire as it slowly dimmed from the lack of wood. Lucien slyly placed his hand lightly on top of mine which was resting on the surface of the rough bark of the log. I looked up and he charmingly grinned at me illuminating his adorable smile. He lightly rubbed the top of my palm flirtatiously and we blushed at one another.

"It's great seeing you again, Lucien," I whispered to him.

"You too," he replied timidly, his smile still remaining. The butterflies and uneasiness from my stomach had disappeared and the rosy color on my cheeks faded away. I was no longer feeling shy or uncomfortable. Lucien had this gentle quality that eventually put me at ease. By the twinkle in his eyes, I could tell he wasn't concerned about anything. He knew what was happening now and didn't worry what it meant or how it affected our relationship.

We sat there for the rest of the everlasting night alone and under the sparkling, ashen stars. Just the two of us.


	54. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Chapter 54

Chapter 54

"So you're entering a race?" my father asked the next morning. Before the race had started I decided I needed to call my parents and give them an update about my trip. My mother was at work and my dad had just come home for his lunch break since his job was about 4 minutes down the road.

"Yeah, it should be fun," I nodded with a smile. "I'm partnering up with my new friend Penny. I think I've mentioned her couple of times to you guys,"

"Yes, yes," my father agreed, his shaggy mustache wiggling above his lip. "And how is that boy… Owen?"

"He's fine, why do you ask?" I raised an eye brow.

"Your mother is constantly asking about him," he rolled his eyes followed by a chuckle. "She just doesn't want her baby dating too early,"

"You don't have to worry about me and Owen," I assured him while waving my hands reassuringly. "But…" I was prepared to tell him about Lucien but to our surprise my mother barged in and mauled my father out of the picture of the green telephone/computer.

"KYLIE SCORCH!" she screamed, face red as a pepper.

"Y-yes mom?" I replied while pulling back nervously.

"You are lucky my mother senses were tingling! Why is it you always call when I am out working!?" my brown haired mother hollered in rage.

"Uh-uh," I stammered.

"Darling, calm down, I am sure Kylie doesn't mean to," my father placed his hands on my mother's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "It's a coincidence," he assured her.

"Really mom, I don't mean to, it's the only opportunities I get," I told her sincerely.

"Being a Pokemon trainer is a busy job," my father added in.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kylie, I get so emotional now a days," she trembled while burying her face into her sleeve. My father's eyes widened as he nodded in agreement, I chuckled. "I'm so worried about you! When will you be home? Soon I hope,"

"I miss you too, mom," I also began to get teary eyed.

She dabbed a tear away from the crease of her eye with a handkerchief, "Just be safe,"

"I promise,"

"Bye Kylie, we love you honey," my father waved as he wrapped his arm around my mother for comfort.

"Bye."

"Is little Kylie Scorch feeling home sick?" Owen walked over and snickered.

"AHA!" I shot up and pointed towards the boy's nose.

"What?" he asked clueless.

"You talked before we got to Cinnabar! I win! I knew you couldn't do it!" I danced victoriously.

"Crap!" Owen grunted angrily as he kicked a computer chair close by.

"Man, I should have bet you some money or something," I snapped my fingers in disappointment.

Later that afternoon all the pairs of trainers gathered on the beach, ready to start the ceremonies then commence the Race to Cinnabar Island. Jackson and Owen were chatting off to the side and I stealthily scanned the beach to spot Lucien. Penny was rambling on about how she found a hair earlier that day in her breakfast when I finally saw Lucien standing next to his band mates.

I completely ditched Penny in the middle of her story and shuffled towards Lucien, caught starring at his irresistible smile. Penny followed behind me anyway. Lucien kindly introduced us to his friends, Spider, the boy that also played the guitar and had the long hair and wore a striped jacket. The other kid was the one who played the harmonica, and we didn't notice until now that he was absolutely gorgeous! He was tall with evenly tan skin. His perfectly flipped brown hair swayed in front of his face. He had amazing cheek bones and captivating green eyes. They were the color of the Caribbean Sea with chips of mosaic green swirled in the combination. He had brilliant white teeth, each one individually twinkled like a star. He wore a cotton blue Hollister T-shirt and baggy soft rinsed jeans. Something that caught both of our eyes was an elaborate skateboard sticking out of his backpack.

"Hi," Penny greeted shyly.

"This is Clyde," Lucien introduced.

"You skateboard?" I asked in a dreamlike trance.

"Yeah," he smiled charmingly.

"God, that is so hot," Penny blurted out loud. "Do you have a partner for the contest yet?"

"I'm free if you need me!" I told him, propping my hand in the air.

"I'm actually teaming up with Lucien," he informed us, Penny slouched in disappointment.

"What a show off," Jackson seethed.

Owen gritted his teeth, "They give this guy all this special attention just because he can skateboard? Half of the earth's population can do that," he exaggerated.

"You know we can hear you?" I leaned forward and told them.

"Good, maybe you'll stop drooling over him," Jackson snubbed as he crossed his arms.

"Someone's jealous," I teased.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome all travelers, to the Race to Cinnabar Island!" Gloria, the woman we met yesterday declared. She stood at a podium in the center of the beach. A white line was traced on the rocky coast and sitting just before the water sat 10 blocks of wood for each pair. "Now is time for me to explain the rules," she announced. "Each pair gets one block of wood and one block only, as you can see they are very large and heavy, you and your partner will have to work with your Pokemon in order to create the perfect canoe. Once you have built your boat you climb in and sail away! You may take as many pit stops as you like on the way to Cinnabar Island. There are two rest stops brought to you by us half way between here and Cinnabar Island on a small land mass, it's so small alls you'll see is the Pokemon Center and a couple of palm trees. The other one is towards the end, but I'm sure most of you will make it by the second night. Charcoal Beach is the beach on Cinnabar where the finish line will be at. The first team to cross the line wins the top prize! Medals will also be received for the top three winners. Remember, you and your team mate have to cross the finish line at the same time!"

"Alright Penny, your grass type Pokemon will be perfect to carve that hunk of wood," I whispered to her.

She nodded in conformity, "I was actually thinking we make a raft, that way Tropius can ride in the back and give us more wind power,"

"Good idea," we gave each other a light high-five.

"Alright, get with your partner and stand behind the white line," Gloria instructed us. On our right Jackson and Owen stood, readying themselves to sprint towards the chunk of lumber. Lucien and Clyde stood at our left, eyeing the box-shaped timber also.

Before Gloria shot the pistil up towards the clear sky Lucien whispered, "Let's form an alliance,"

"Huh?" I questioned.

He cleared his throat, "I can tell Owen and Jackson are going to be tough competition, let's form an alliance to make them fall behind," Lucien strategize devilishly.

I thought for a moment, "Owen and Jackson are my friends…"

"I heard the prize is a gym badge," he reported to my quietly. "I know you would love to win it," he smiled.

"Are you serious? A gym badge?" I asked eagerly.

He nodded, "Yeah, that's what I heard,"

"Alright, we'll help you out," I told him instantly.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Gloria shouted as she shot the pistil high in the air. The shot echoed a loud bang and was so powerful it almost made the little woman fall off her feet. Owen and Jackson immediately raced forward, Penny and I followed. I instantly came to a halt when I saw a notebook drop from Owen's backpack. My legs turned to stone when I realized it was Owen's diary. Thoughts of the race disappeared from my mind and my surroundings melted to a depressing black. My vision blurred and I wasn't sure what to do. The feeling in my hamstrings dissolved back and I was able to slowly walk towards the journal. I picked it up, arguing with myself to give it back, save it for later, or read it now. Reading it now wasn't a good idea. People were screaming and releasing their Pokemon from their Pokeballs, beginning to shape their canoe. Penny grabbed my arm and tugged me towards the sandy shore. I quickly slipped the spiral bound notepad into my messenger bag, then regained focus on the competition.

Penny sent out her Bulbasaur who used a razor leaf to cut the piece of lumber into three flat sections. Like whole punching a paper, I had Charmander burn wholes on the side of the planks of wood, so we could use stable rope to thread it all together. I looked over my shoulder to see Jackson, Owen, and Jackson's Rattata carving away, creating a crater inside the block of wood. I figured it would take them forever to carve a hole in that with just three people, so maybe I wouldn't have to blackmail them in order to help Lucien. Maybe they weren't tough competition after all?

"I don't know if this rope is going to hold all this wood together," I stood back and scratched my head as I analyzed the large raft. I glimpsed at all the other teams' progress and none of them were making rafts. Every single one was constructing a canoe like boat.

"We can't redo it anyways," Penny pointed out as she and Tropius began to push the raft out into the ocean.

"Team Kylie and Penny are the first to finish their boat… or raft, and are also the first to set out into the ocean!" Gloria proclaimed to the contenders.

The heavy planks of wood collapsed into the grave ocean and splashed mini title waves which soaked our feet. Tropius cautiously climbed on to the back of our raft, almost sinking the rear end. Totodile sat cooperatively as I tightly fastened a rope around his waist, hoping if he swam and steered the boat, it would help us move along faster. Totodile eagerly climbed into the brisk sea and impatiently began to slightly impel us forward.

"Our plan hasn't failed!" I declared happily.

"Tropius isn't totally sinking it!" Penny clapped her hands together in relief.

"Onward, Totodile!" I scrambled onto the stable raft and Penny followed. Prepared, we readied our oars to help propel us forward even quicker. Penny and I were determined to win these badges, if the rumor was true. I glanced over my shoulder once again. Owen and Jackson were falling behind while other groups were situating themselves to start oceangoing. Lucien and Clyde wiped the sweat off their brows as they stood back and proudly evaluated their small vessel. Their boat was beautifully carved with an even and smooth bottom that could easily glide over the ocean waves.

"All the teams except for Jackson and Owen have finished their boats, 2 hours into the competition!" Gloria updated the contestants.

"Ready, Penny?" I asked her as I secured myself, gripping onto the rudder we had created with spare chunks of wood.

"Yes sir," she jokingly saluted me like a sailor. She tightly grasped a lengthy, burly oar in her hands then dipped its wooden tip into the salty water. "Tropius, whirlwind attack!" she shouted, eyeing the other kids who started to row out to sea.

"Totodile, start swimming!" I yelled.

Tropius swung his thick, green tropical leaves through the air, which branched out of his broad shoulders. Totodile, small and delicate, tried its best to make a difference in our speed by shoving forward through the trembling deep ocean. Suddenly, we heaved forward due to Tropius's unexpected burst in strength, also leaving all the other competitors in the dust. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but worry about Owen and Jackson. I didn't want them to do horrible, then again it was only the first day, no, first couple of hours into the contest. We shouldn't worry.

After Tropius had grew tired we slowly floated through the water. Totodile pulled us through the timid afternoon waves while Penny carelessly rowed along side of the raft. I sat there needlessly, chin firmly planted into my hand which balanced on my knee as I sat uncomfortably on the wooden planks in a pretzel formation. I heard a sudden splashing sound and glanced to the side to see a set of trainers paddling effortlessly in their kayak.

"I normally wouldn't ask this, but is something wrong, Kylie?" Penny asked as she continued to scull loosely.

I had then realized Penny wasn't talking that entire time out in the center of the ocean. I ignored the fact that we were in the middle of no where and had no map to follow.

"It's just…" I began before stopping myself from going on an endless rampage.

"For once, I am letting you talk," Penny smiled oh-so generously.

"Don't tell anyone, but I told Lucien we'd be in an alliance with him," I whispered.

"I didn't get any say in this?" Penny scowled.

I exhaled a puff of laughter, "You have a problem with it?"

"Well, no," she shrugged. "But I get to form the next alliance!" she joked. "I don't think that's the only thing that is bothering you…"

"I'm fine," I assured her. I was lying.


	55. The Storm

Chapter 55

Chapter 55

That night we had reached the first island which the contest provided us a place to rest and heal our exhausted Pokemon. Pairs of trainers poured into the Pokemon Center where Chansey brought us all blankets and pillows. Unfortunately, due to the high number of people in the center, we all had to sleep on the cold, back breaking floor. I sat in a lounge chair and watched the glass, automatic doors for Jackson and Owen to enter. I wasn't sure why I was so worried about them, when they're probably out there worrying about me.

It was around 10:30 when everyone had situated themselves and attempted to fall asleep. The travelers were all bushed from the endless exerting of effort the day drained from us. My eyelids felt like anchors were strapped on them and were pulling them downward, but a strange force kept me from closing my eyes and falling asleep. I shivered under my thin, cotton pink blanket and cuddled against my flat pillow. My teeth clattered continuously and I grew worried that I was annoying the other weary trainers. In the opposite corner of the lobby a croaking, hoarse snore alarmed frequently, buzzing in my ear and preventing me from drifting off to sleep.

Tears drew to my eyes, lying there miserably as my body craved for rest. As the hours ticked by I wanted to stand up and just go sleep outside or in a storage closet, but I was cornered in by other slumbering teenagers.

When I had finally shut my eyes and drifted off into a deep trance, we were all awoken by the obnoxiously loud Nurse Joy, ringing a triangle and telling us breakfast was being prepared. Everyone moaned in anguish, their bodies crying for more sleep, as they rolled over and hid under their blankets from the blinding ceiling lights the nurse had turned on to wake us up.

Numerous Chansey handed out trays with a small meal on them from plastic, rolling carts. Two boys next to Penny and I hastily gobbled down their meal then raced outside to get an early start. I would have done the same if my head wasn't bowing against my chest, trying to nod off to sleep.

"Kylie, you look terrible," Penny commented with a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Thanks," I yawned carelessly.

"Hurry up and eat your food, we need to get out there and beat everyone!" Penny rushed me. Penny noticed I was closing my eyes, attempting to get some rest before we set out for the day. She angrily snapped her fingers in front of my face, "Wake up! That is it, forget breakfast we need to go!" Penny grabbed my arm and dragged me outside of the center, only two other teams remained inside and the rest had started loading their boat with their things. I happened to look drowsily behind my shoulder to see an elderly woman, drenched in purple fabrics, smile as she disappeared behind a tree.

"The fortune teller!" I shouted as I ran over and checked for her behind the palm tree, she was no where in sight. The fortune teller had mysteriously disappeared, again.

"What are you doing way over there? Get over here and let's get going! You know how bad I want to win this!" Penny snapped, intolerant of my hallucinations.

Suddenly, the sun filled sky was intruded by bloodcurdling storm clouds that swiftly took over the blue morning sky. Echoes of thunder shook the ground bellow our feet and the ocean began to twist and turn, waves crashing down on the black sea, washing large gatherings of seaweed on the coastal line of the small island. Team mates looked at one another in worrisome, questioning each other if they should risk rowing out through the horrendous storm.

Penny jumped to the opportunity, "While these pansies contemplate over this, let's get a head start!"

I groaned in a tiresome disagreement, "Penny, let's just wait until it blows over,"

Lucien appeared by my side with a determined grin on his adorable face, "C'mon Scorch, what'll it hurt?"

"My entire body if we capsize," I bit my lip, imagining us flipping over and being sucked down to the bottom the ocean and never able to surface, slowly running out of oxygen. I gasped when snapped back to reality. Penny was hopelessly flirting with Clyde who was utterly clueless as she basked in his manliness.

"We'll go, if you go," Lucien smiled comfortingly as he gently took my hands and curled his around them. My palms tingled as his warm, soft skin sheltered mine from the sprinkling rain that began to descend from the black clouds above our heads.

"We'll be right behind you," I smiled back.

Unexpectedly, Lucien put his arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. Before I knew it he landed a kiss on my lips before scurrying away towards his canoe.

"Are you ready Spinarak?" he called cheerfully to his Pokemon companion. Spinarak scrambled towards his trainer and climbed upon his shoulder. Penny and I decided not to send out our Pokemon because we didn't want the rain to make them sick. We would have to row manually.

The two of us and only one other team embarked into the vivacious ocean. The other groups stood pointlessly on the sandy shoreline, watching us struggle over the waves as they crashed down onto the deck of our raft. I dunked one end of my oar into the water but the ocean was so vicious it cracked the wooden paddle right in half. Penny's oar did the same.

"Well, this sucks," I muttered as we floated aimlessly in the middle of the vigorous rainstorm. More thunder boomed, lightening shot down from the stirring dark clouds. Lucien and the others were no where in sight. Our luck continued when a massive title wave lifted from the surface of the ocean. We were stranded helplessly on our raft, watching the crashing wave of ice cold salt water charge towards us.

"Penny, I just want to let you know that even though you talk way too much, you're still my best friend! I'm going to miss you!" I wept as it grew closer and closer, our raft beginning to tip over.

"Wait, what do you mean I talk too much?" she placed her hands on her hips tenaciously. Just then, the tsunami had reached us and the crest of the wave tumbled over and hurtled down onto us, slapping against our fragile skin. Gallons of sea water drained into my lungs and my body was crushed as the ocean sucked us downward to the muddy bottom.

Thinking fast, I released Totodile from his Pokeball. The explosion of white light lit up the pitch black water and I was able to see Penny just beside me. I wrapped my arm around Totodile who began swimming upward towards the surface. Penny quickly grasped my ankle and waited for us to reach the top. The water crushed my head and my aching lungs contracted, yearning for oxygen.

We burst out from the water and gasped for short breaths of air. The world around us spun and everything blurred together like an oil pastel painting. Before we knew it, another massive wave crashed down on our heads and sent us back under water. With out meaning to, I open my mouth to inhale more oxygen, but tons of sea water just poured into my lungs. I coughed while my stinging eyes searched for Penny or Totodile. Neither of them were in sight. After that, everything went black.

My head felt like an anvil, planted into the warm, gentle sand. Pebbles of dust wedged into the corner of my eye lids. Soreness prevented me from opening my eyes and gaping at my surroundings. Unbearable pain stabbed at my lower back as I lay there motionless. My feet quivered while the flow of blood was blocked and the veins elevated from my clammy skin. Finally, I gradually lifted my feeble eyes. I opened them to see nothing but darkness, starring me back in the eyes. Warm blood coursed through my arms and I was able to lift my face out of the dirt.

I turned my head, gazing at my surroundings. We were on a tropical island. Palm trees swayed in the gentle aftermath of the storm. The sun beamed down brightly, blinding my renewed eye sight. I could no longer keep my head out of the sand, gravity tugged it back down, causing dirt to get caught between my teeth.

I heard a quiet moan. I turned my head on its side and exposed my eyeballs once again the vibrant sunlight. Penny lay there, attempting to pick herself off the ground, but I knew she felt just as I did, hopeless and dead, unable to access the strength that simply getting up required.

"Penny?" I managed to squawk.

She was too weak to reply.

Finally, I had dug deep within me and retrieved the power to bend my legs and pick myself off the ground.

"Penny, get up," I stumbled over to her side and shook her shoulder.

"Ah god," she mumbled in agony. "What the hell was that?"

I tried to smile but my face was frozen as if I just got botox, "Bad weather," I responded bluntly.

"Mother Nature is a real bitch," Penny grumbled crabbily.

Totodile staggered his way over by my side, the weakened Pokemon held its head as he practically fell face first into the sand. I caught him in my lap then snuggled him tightly against my chin.

"Totodile," I quivered, tears of relief appearing in my eyes. "I am so happy you're alright,"

"Where's our raft?" Penny asked.

Unfortunately, I spotted it washed up on the shore, "Right there,"

The pathetic, destroyed raft sat on the sandy shore as the morning tide gently washed up against it. The rudder was crushed, the wood was cracked, and half of it was missing.

"No way we can leave on that thing," I murmured.

"This reminds me of a movie I once saw," Penny stated while pointing upward. "It was about this guy stranded on an island because his plane crashed and he was there for like ever! Oh yeah, and there was no one else who survived so his best friend was a volleyball. Wouldn't that suck though? Being stranded all by your self! I think I would kill myself with no one to talk to! Would you kill yourself? I think I would. Would you?"

I sighed in misery, "That would stink,"

"Kylie, look!" Penny gasped in delight as she pointed in the distance. There, just feet away, sat a small, wooden sail boat. A black flag with a skull on it flapped in the slight wind. The three of us ran towards the miniature vessel and almost drooled at its fine build and craftsmanship.

"We're saved!" Penny sung.

I turned then asked Penny, "Do you know how to sail a boat?"

She looked at me in uncertainty, "I have no idea,"

"We'll have to wing it, I guess," I moaned as I climbed on board. A small case of stairs lead up the large, oak steering wheel. A single door on the poop deck lead down to the cabin and the rest of the space was occupied by ropes, buckets, fishing rods, and crates.

"Hey, look at this," Penny waved me over as she unrolled a piece of thick, off-white paper.

"It looks like a map," I observed, analyzing the documented towns, oceans, rivers, and islands noted on the fairly big map.

"Dude, what if it's a treasure map! And this is a pirate ship! How awesome would that be?" Penny asked as she shook in thrill.

I pulled back in fright, "If it was a pirate ship they'd chop our heads off for going on their ship and looking at their map!"

Just as I finished saying that, soft banging against the side of the ship alarmed us all. We spun around to see a group of pirates glaring at us heatedly. One was monstrous and towered over all the others, however he was very lean. He wore a skull patterned bandana on his head with a gold, loop earring hanging from his ear lobe. He had a long, narrow nose and glossy, black eyes which seemed to stare at emptiness.

The one beside him was half my height and pudgy. A tight, white, greasy T-shirt exposed his outtie belly-button. He also wore a skull patterned bandana. The man that stood confident and scowled unwelcomingly presented himself like he was the captain of the small crew. He wore a dirty, flimsy hat which matched his thick leather, blue jacket. His scruffy beard covered the disgusting, revealed chest hairs reaching out for air from underneath his black vest. His intimidating, solid black eyes glared us down. He wore stretched out and stained brown tights which were tucked into his bulky deck boots. A belt buckle wrapped around one ankle while the other boot had a massive hole exposing his toes.

The last boy was young, probably just two or three years older then Penny and I. He was grimy and sweaty like the rest of them. He had a boxy head and whiskers growing in on his cleft chin. He had dark, green eyes and wore a loose, white long sleeve shirt with a black vest on top. He too had a bandana with skulls printed on it on top of his mop head.

"Can we help ye?" the predicted captain hissed crossly.

"Um," I stammered in pure terror.

"Oh my god, real pirates! Who was right?" Penny celebrated.

"I suggest ye get off er ship, before me crew gets a handle on ye," the captain threatened.

"Please, sir," I began to beg. "We don't have any way off this island,"

"Not er problem," he scoffed, crossing his arms unhelpfully. "Now get off before I make ye walk the plank!" he drew his thin bladed sword from the leather holder tied on his belt loop.

"You couldn't just do us this one, itsy bitsy favor?" Penny flirted, lightly tapping the middle aged man on his chest.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and looked away in disgust, "Penny, you are such a whore,"

"Make them give us money, boss!" one sailor snickered.

"Make them walk the plank!" another shouted.

"Hey, we are perfectly friendly and won't do anything to jeopardize your ship! So, if you could just do this one simple favor and bring us to the next Pokemon Center that would be just dandy!" I yelled in frustration.

"It'll cost ye," the captain smirked looking back devilishly at the rest of his crew.

"Fine," I folded my arms tenaciously.

"We have 67 dollars total," Penny informed the pirates while fishing change out of her pockets. The crooks faced each other then whispered like they were in a football huddle.

The captain spun around with a smile of amusement, "Alright, we'll take ye up on er offer,"

"You guys are heading to Cinnabar Island too?" I asked them.

"We be headin' in that direction," the pudgy sailor answered.

The captain then declared, "We're goin' to the Seafoam Islands, to get us er treasure!"


	56. Arrival at the Seafoam Islands

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The sails flailed in the brisk wind as the captain and his crew steered over the rushing waves in the ocean. I gaped at the horizon, the early morning sun sprouting stubby rays of golden red. Flocks of Wingull flew over head and packs of Wailmer burst from the pinnacle of the ocean and sprayed mist from the tops of their heads.

"Captain," the novice pirate greeted his superior with a salute.

"Yes Roots, me boy," the captain replied, eased by the howling, endless sea.

"Roots?" Penny and I spat, holding in our laughter by covering our mouths.

"Sir, we will be approaching the Seafoam Islands by noon, sir," Roots reported.

"Wonderful!" the captain exploded with delight.

"What is so special about this treasure at the Seafoam Islands?" I asked in curiosity.

"It ain't be any of er business," he hissed, lightly poking me with his hooked hand. He then spun around and ironically ranted about the doubloons he and his crew dreamed about. "This treasure is legendary and has been hunted by some of the most famous pirates on this here earth! Lucky for us they never found it," the crew stopped what they were doing to join their captain in a thunderous laugh. "This treasure be special 'cause it be protected by Zapdos on the Seafoam Islands. Whatever captain and he crew finds that glorious treasure will be legends!" the captain swung his arms about as he galloped around the deck, imagining the shinning jewels.

"Does anyone know what the treasure looks like?" I asked.

"Well, it'd be in a treasure chest of course!" Roots responded swiftly.

"It also be said that the gems are the same florescent yellow as Zapdos he self," the captain continued.

Suddenly, we all twirled around once alarmed by an earsplitting scream. We turned to see Penny shaking and pointing at an infantile Wingull gawking at her backpack, odors of food wafting up into its beak. A small globule of drool dangled from its sunny-d colored bill as it inched closer towards Penny who was clenching her backpack.

"Get it away!" Penny squealed in fright. The Wingull leaped into the air and landed on Penny's shoulder. The girl ran in circles while attempting to whack away the nuisance of a bird. It pecked away at her knuckles trying to dig its way into her snack filled bag.

"You want it? Go get it!" Penny suddenly and stupidly chucked her backpack over board. The lime green knapsack immediately soaked up sea water and began to sink.

"Oh no, my Pokemon are in there!" she realized. Penny, the captain, and I all rushed over to the railing of the ship, watching the brightly colored rucksack descend to the bottom of the cerulean sea.

"Send out your Totodile to go get it!" Penny grabbed my collar and demanded, tears of fear dripping from her eyes. I went to grab his Pokeball from the side of my belt but I was disrupted by a flash of white that dashed by. The heroic yet toddler Wingull dove into the brisk water head first. Bubbles of oxygen fluttered to the surface but Wingull remained submerged for a long time. We grew worried that the small, wild bird had drowned. Catching us by surprise, Wingull burst from glistening sea with Penny's backpack strap between his beak. Wingull was greeted by a gratifying applause once it had landed on the deck of the boat. The young, undomesticated bird smiled at the approval, gleaming in confidence and pride.

"Thank you, Wingull," Penny knelt on her knee and smiled at the helpful water/flying type Pokemon. Unexpectedly, the Wingull jumped up and wrapped its bill around Penny's green bandana. The foolish bird trotted around the ship with the light piece of cloth hanging from its mouth. Penny flushed in humiliation, her flat hat hair exposed for all to see. The teenage girl stomped after the Pokemon, ordering for it to give her bandana back.

Finally, Penny exasperated as she reached for a Pokeball out of her bag. Out of the metal storage device exploded Bulbasaur, Penny's starter Pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, use vine whip to catch that rascal!" Penny pointed towards the thief, who froze in its tracks like she was aiming a gun at it. The grass type Pokemon then extended jungle like vines from its back and wrapped them around Wingull tightly. Wingull's feather ruffled between the cracks of the vines while it tried to squirm free of Bulbasaur's attack. Penny quickly ran over and snatched the green bandana away from the Wingull then tied it back around her light brown hair.

"Alright Bulbasaur, finish this with razor leaf!" Penny instructed in enthusiasm. The crew stood back and watched as Bulbasaur released dozens of sharp oval shaped leaves from its bulb. The jagged leaves sliced Wingull's sides, making it squawk in pain as it collapsed to the ground. To my surprise, Penny attained a Pokeball from her knapsack then chucked it at the wild Wingull. A thing beam of red light pulled the weakened Pokemon inside and secured it in the high-tech mechanism until the Pokeball echoed with a soft click.

Penny gleamed in excitement as she strutted up to her newly obtained Wingull, "Heck yeah, I caught Wingull!" Penny shouted in glee as she flashed a peace sign cheerily.

I narrowed my eyes at the hypocritical girl, "I thought you only caught grass type Pokemon?"

"And I thought you only caught fire type," she countered.

"Touche," I admitted.

"Ye seen the battle now ye better get back to work before I make ye all into wimpy Wingull!" the captain snapped at his absent minded crew.

"THERE IT IS!" the uncommonly tall man hollered as he pointed at the horizon. We all rushed to the bow of the ship to spot a speck of land beginning to pierce through the sky.

"That look like it be the island of rare and powerful Zapdos," Roots gaped in awe at the wondrous and beautiful mountain that peaked in the afternoon sky.

"Roots," the captain called. The boy arrived, standing up straight respectfully. "Good job calling that time of arrival, noon tis!" the captain praised.

"Thank you, Captain Zathulu," the boy nodded courteously.

"So, your name is Captain Zathulu?" I chuckled.

"There be nothin' wrong with me name," he seethed, leaning in closely, eyeing me down.

Within a couple of rapid passing hours we had landed on the famous island of the electric bird Zapdos. I kept a keen eye out for the ferocious bird soaring through the air. Across from the island the pirates, Penny, and I hiked on were two other islands within a short, but tiring swimming distance. One was an even taller mountain then the one we journeyed on and the other contained a steep crater in the center. The six of us ventured our ways through the dormant brush of one of the three Seafoam Islands. I was surprised to see a tropical climate like this was covered in dry, bare trees and dead grass coated in frost.

"Why is it so cold?" Penny shivered, rubbing her bare arms.

"The strange climate is due to ye three legendary birds coming together and defending here treasure, so says er myths," Captain Zathulu explained in his raspy, coarse voice as we began to scale up a steep path which wrapped around the mountain. The path was so thin our group had to walk single file. Captain Zathulu led the way, then Penny and I followed before the rest of his crew.

"Isn't treasure usually buried, in well um, sand?" I questioned.

"Ye be questioning me directin'?" the captain stopped in his tracks and flashed me the stink eye.

I pulled back nervously, not only afraid of his hazy, twitching eye but the fact I could fall off the steep ledge in just one simple movement. "Ummm, no?"

"Good," Zathulu scoffed. He slowly turned around while straightening his jacket collar, then we continued to climb quietly.

The view was breath taking. Dew swathed trees blanketed the vast land mark. Beautiful cliffs sculpted by nature and time led down to the ocean which sparkled like fire works. A slight layer of fog blocked the scrutiny of the other two islands but they still completed the astounding memory.

"I still can't believe that we are actually walking on one of the very Seafoam Islands! This is something we'll remember for the rest of our lives," I told the group cheerfully.

"Shut your yappin'," Roots silenced in annoyance.

I looked over my shoulder and glared at him angrily, "I could easily push you off this ledge," I threatened.

"As could I," he countered.

The time finally came where we reached the top. Our legs ached and our backs felt like they were getting slowly stabbed all the way through to our abdomens, but we had made it. The six of us looked over the immeasurable beauty. Even though the air was the thin and dry, making it difficult to breathe, gusts of brawny wind pounded against our faces causing us to shake, and in the back of our minds we knew we'd have to walk all the way down, I felt like we had conquered the world.

"That's amazing," Penny stuttered in awe.

"Not as amazing as me," I joked. Our giggling was brought to a halt when I spotted a speck of purple around the corner. I leaned over, looking past everyone's shoulders, searching for the missing woman who was dressed in a variety of purple fabrics. Once again the fortune teller had disappeared.

The lengthy, scrawny pirate then turned our focus back on the treasure, "So, where do we start diggin', boss?"

The captain looked at him timidly and replied calmly, "Be patient, Gabe,"

"We've been patient long enough," the tubby bandit snapped. "We want to know that all these months of searching has been worth it,"

"Months!?" I spun around towards Captain Zathulu and gasped.

"We've sailed from the land of Sinnoh just to search for this hur treasure in beautiful Kanto," the captain muttered in thought.

"Hey, your crew isn't the only ones getting impatient! Hurry up old man, I want to get out of this freezing cold and win this race! Kylie and I don't have all the time in the world!" Penny shouted in frustration. "So, stop taking your sweet time and dig!" she ordered rudely.

Captain Zathulu reached in his deep pocket and pulled out the rolled up map Penny and I looked at before, "Er map say here that there's a cave which has the treasure inside,"

"Not a bloody cave!?" the short, pale pirate tossed his arms up in the air in aggravation.

"Calm er self, Belly Button," Captain Zathulu soothed. "Me golden senses be tinglin'," the bitter man chuckled in glee.

"They better," Belly Button murmured heatedly.

Just yards away sat the opening to the cave. Pebbles of rock crumbled from the ceiling and piled up on the unstable floor of the cavern as we peeked our heads in. The entrance was small. Gabe would most likely not be able to walk through without having to duck, so he and Belly Button stayed behind while the rest of us cautiously stepped foot into the pitch black cave.

"I don't know about this," I shook in fear, feeling my way by gliding my hand against the dust covered rock wall.

"Me eyes be bad enough, now I can't see a durn thing," the captain complained in a hiss.

"Announcement!" I shouted happily. "I have an idea, Charmander, lead the way!" I tossed his Pokeball onto the grotto's floor. The explosion of white light lit up the cavern for a few seconds then shimmered down to the gentle flicker of Charmander's tail.

"_Charmander Char!_" Charmander greeted optimistically.

"Hey buddy, lead the way down this cave will ya?" I asked, smiling at my willing and cooperative Pokemon. He nodded back reassuringly.

Rocks crunched under our sneakers as the five of us, me, Penny, Charmander, Captain Zathulu, and Roots, carefully ventured through the straight, narrow tunnel. Eventually, we came to a halt when a dreadful sight came along. All of us stood there, each and every one of us contemplating with themselves which way to go. It was a fork in the tunnel.


	57. Island Insanity

**Chapter 57**

"Well, this sucks," Penny muttered sadly, glancing down each pitch black tunnel.

"Does your map say anything about which way we should go?" I asked the head pirate.

He looked at me unsurely, "Me map just has a big, red X on the cave, that be it," he broke the news to us.

We collapsed to the cave floor in disappointment and dread.

"This is just fabulous!" Penny placed her hands on her hips. "Not only do I have to die in a cave, I have to look disgusting too! I mean seriously, their dirt must be contagious!"

"Hey, we are pirates, dirt is our best friend," Roots argued.

"Doesn't mean you don't have ignore the meaning of a shower," I fired back.

"Maybe Charmander has like a 5th sense for direction," Penny shrugged, trying to come up with anything so we don't take the wrong route. I chortled faintly at Penny's obliviousness.

I squatted down and looked my fire type in the eyes, "Charmander, which way do you think we should go?" I asked him.

The Pokemon shrugged unknowingly.

"We can split up into two groups, one group will go to the left and the other will go to the right," Roots suggested. Roots put a thick stick to Charmander's tail then Penny and Roots both entered the left route. So I shrugged and followed Captain Zathulu in the right tunnel.

We hiked in silence. The ceiling began to get lower and eventually we had to get on our knees and crawl. Sweat dripped down my forehead and tickled my nose as it dangled, waiting to fall into the dry dirt bellow our knees. It was as if a light from heaven shinned down and sparkled onto the end of the burrow which opened into and wide, circular cavern. The ceilings towered above our heads and I didn't feel so claustrophobic anymore. Captain Zathulu then got off his knees and we both turned to see a massive, slumbering, electric yellow bird lying on a pedestal in the center of the empty room. Jet black stripes overlapped its yellow feathers which jagged out like they were surged with immense electricity.

"Holy… crap," I muttered in utter amazement. "That can't really be it… can it?"

_Zapdos is a legendary Pokemon that is said to live in thunderclouds. It freely controls lightening bolts, _said Dexter.

"The legendary bird Zapdos," Captain Zathulu's eyes widened in astonishment. "But where is the treasure chest?" the captain turned his head in all directions, searching for the trunk in a panic.

"Maybe it was in the left tunnel," I whispered, trying not to wake the electric type bird.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Captain Zathulu suddenly whaled, shaking the ground like an earthquake. The mindless pirate began to sprint around the room, arms waving crazily. The strange man crashed himself up against the rock walls continuously.

"What are you doing?!" I shrieked, knowing he would wake the snoozing Pokemon. Zapdos's eyes shot open when he heard the continuous banging caused by the brainless pirate, freaking out over the missing treasure. The bird Pokemon croaked then screeched so loudly it shattered my eardrums. I covered the sides of my head as Zapdos angrily awoken and stood menacingly on its pedestal. The legendary bird flapped its wings vigorously, picking up dirt from the cave floor and causing it to fly into our eyes and mouths.

"Way to go!" I shouted, loud enough over the roar of Zapdos whirlwind, evidently mad.

Captain Zathulu didn't respond, he quickly sprinted towards the small hole of an exit to flee from the angered bird. Before we could get on our knees and run from the dangerous Pokemon, Zapdos shot a fiery blue lightening bolt at the wall and created a massive hole leading out of Zapdos's lair.

Zapdos soared out of his den and headed for outside of the cave. We caught up to Penny and Roots at the fork we separated at earlier. Oddly, Penny and Roots's hair were both crazily messed up and lip gloss was smeared all around their lips. I slapped my palm to my forehead at the sight of them both, the two teenagers trying to look innocent.

"Oh god, Penny…" I started, but then I was interrupted by another earthshaking screech from Zapdos, who was circling his island. The four of us ran outside to see Belly Button and Gabe frantically running down the mountain side, escaping from Zapdos's wrath.

"What happened?" Penny asked while trying to tame her damaged hair.

"Captain No-brain over here started flipping out over the treasure and woke Zapdos up!" I explained, intentionally clearing my throat loudly so the captain would at least apologize. There was no time for that though. Zapdos was enraged by our intrusion and shot bolts of lightening in every direction, demolishing the beautiful hills and lighting trees on fire. The forest fire grew fast since the woodland was so dry. Charmander hopped on my shoulder and the group of us started to sprint down the path. Each of us screamed in terror when Zapdos soared over head and directed a jolt of lightening right at us. The earth bellow us cracked and explosions of rock flew up in the air. Painfully rolling down the mountainside, rocks and sticks stabbed our shoulders as we barrel rolled downhill from the blast. It felt like individual punches were being delivered into my back and shoulders as we tumbled down the rocky cliff. With a loud thump, we landed on a grassy area with blotches of beach sand here and there. There was no time to lie in pain, Zapdos dashed over and began to shoot more electrical attacks at us. Ignoring the full body agony, I hobbled towards the beach, trying to run from the furious Zapdos. I looked over my shoulder to see Penny and Charmander also getting up to flee.

"Where's Roots and Captain Zathulu?" I asked feebly as I stopped so the two could catch up.

"I have no idea," Penny responded weakly. Charmander climbed up my back and gripped my shoulder blades since he was too hurt to walk himself. I still looked around for the missing pirates, concerned for their safety. Suddenly, we heard a frightened, blaring scream from up above. I looked up, sun glaring me in the eyes, to see Zapdos clutching tiny Captain Zathulu in its meaty claws.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed, unsure what to do to help him.

"Captain Zathulu, are you alright!?" Penny shouted, covering her eyes from the gleaming sun.

"GET ME THE BLOODY HELL DOWN FROM HERE!" the captain boomed in terror and irritation. Before we could reply or think of some way to help the man away from the powerful bird's grasp, Zapdos flung Captain Zathulu into the air, careless of whether he died or survived. The man skidded across the ground and a large rock stopped him from rolling any further down the hill. I could smell salty blood that must have been dripping from his mouth and oozing from the old man's head. Penny stood there covering her mouth stunned, tears drawing to her eyes in pure horror.

"Let's get out of here!" I cried and continued my way to the coastal line. Penny quickly followed, but we arrived to see Belly Button and Gabe sailing away on the wooden ship. Penny overwhelmed with disbelief and rage, stuck her middle finger in the air for the inconsiderate sailors to see. Belly Button returned the favor.

"What do we do now?" I asked, almost ready to jump in the ocean and swim away. Zapdos flew over our heads once more, firing more blasts of lightening, explosions of rocks and bursts of fire echoing all over the island. "We're ganna die, we'll never be able to get away! The only way to get away is swim and I'm not even a good swimmer! I'll drown Penny! I'll drown!" I rambled on with tears rolling down my cheeks.

Penny slapped me across the face, "Snap out of it! We can get out of this!" she assured me.

I sniffled loudly before cleaning the tears off my face, "Ok,"

To our surprise, we heard a holler from out in the ocean. We turned our heads to see Lucien and Clyde waving to us in a panic. They were sitting in their canoe which was drifting not to far off the shoreline. Without hesitating, Penny and I swiftly sprinted over, aware that Zapdos was circling above. Ripples in the water appeared as I pushed the water aside while jogging through the ocean out to Lucien's canoe. My heart was pounding, yet relieved to know we were saved. However, Zapdos still seemed infuriated and wasn't giving up on destroying all the intruders. I knew he was going to attack their canoe, which is why I hurried through the water. My sneakers continually kept getting stuck in the muddy bottom of the ocean. Finally, I arrived at the side of their boat. Lucien reached his arm out for my hand, an expression of anxiety imprinted on his face.

"Here, quickly!" Lucien called out.

I grabbed Lucien's hand. Our fingers laced together perfectly, smooth like threads intertwining in a braid. Unexpectedly, the massive, electric yellow bird swooped down and emerged from behind me. The stubborn bird grabbed my legs with its claws and began to tug away from Lucien's grip. Zapdos obviously didn't want me to escape. Zapdos's skin was rough like bark and pinched my boney ankles until they almost snapped in half. The bird squawked, determined to win this battle. Lucien continued to hold my hand, pulling me towards the canoe so I could safely get on board. I screeched loudly, tears pouring from my eyes because of the legendary bird's immeasurable strength. Finally, moments after flailing in the water like a Magikarp caught in a net, Zapdos freed my ankle from its clutches then flew back towards its island.

Lucien hauled me on board and sat me on one of the mini benches. Clyde assisted Penny on board and the two immediately began to row away from the Seafoam Island while Lucien inspected my devoured ankle. Lucien placed a bucket underneath the continuously bleeding ankle while I elevated it on a bench across from mine. The blood slowly dripped into the metal pan as Lucien dug through his bag to find a bandage.

"Are you alright?" he asked in great concern.

"Not really," I softly chuckled, still weeping from the painful incident.

"I apologize, I don't have any antibacterial spray, just some bandages," Lucien informed me as he unraveled the peach colored cloth. Lucien began to carefully wrap the cloth around my lower leg. The skin was ripped up and my tendon was exposed to the bacteria infected air, but it was soon covered by the bandage, which was rapidly soaking up the black blood leaking from it.

"You saved my life…" I stammered, my eyes widened in realization.

"I saved more then just your life, because I'd be dead without you," Lucien blushed. I tilted towards the romantic boy and planted a prolonged, sodden kiss on his lips.

"Awwwww," Penny sung intentionally to embarrass us. I wasn't embarrassed though. Lucien had saved my life. Who knows what could've happened to me if Zapdos won that battle of tug-o-war.

That night we had finally arrived at the second rest stop provided by the Race Committee. This time there was only six kids, including us, in the Pokemon Center. We were able to sleep on our own cots and rest our heads on fluffy pillows. No kids were snoring and it wasn't unbearably cold. I was almost about to drift off to sleep when I saw Penny sneakily sticking her hand into my backpack.

"What are you doing!?" I whispered, alarming the girl since the rest of the kids were asleep and the center was silent.

"I didn't know you kept a journal," she sang teasingly, then drew the notebook out from my rucksack.

"Hey, I forgot I had that," I pointed undertone. "It's actually Owen's," I informed her.

She frowned, then chuckled, "Owen keeps a diary?"

I laughed too, "Yeah,"

Miraculously, the spiral bound notepad remained unharmed from the water damage I would have imagined it should've received from being tackled by title waves, just a few days ago. Penny began to flip through the pages, roughly skimming the top line as each paper passed. The more pages she turned the more guilt began to sink into me.

"I don't think you should read that," I told Penny, ruining her fun.

"What harm will it do?" she shrugged.

"Last time someone asked me that I ended up capsizing in a massive storm then got my Pokemon stolen by pirates on some random island,"

Penny laughed.

"I don't want to know Owen's inner most thoughts," I quivered from the creepiness, chills running up and down my back.

"Here's the latest entry!" Penny exclaimed happily, kicking the sheets up on her cot.

I placed the pillow over the back of my head to block out her trickery and chatter, "I don't want to know anything," I muffled through the pillow cover.

She then began to read from Owen's journal, "'Today was an interesting day that's for sure! We went to Grandpa Canyon and Kylie got blown up, I wish I was there to see it.'"

"Haha Owen," I chuckled sarcastically. "All right, that's enough snooping for the night... no forever!" I yanked the book away from the girl. She frowned as I tucked it back in my backpack and turned over to go to sleep. I could hear the scratching of paper, I smiled to myself, knowing Penny had retreived the notepad to read it once again. Thankfully, she read it to herself as I drifted off to sleep.


	58. The Fortune Teller Returns

Chapter 58

Chapter 58

The next morning each trainer dressed themselves quickly and jogged outside to get ahead of the rest, since it was down to the wire. Only three teams remained, Penny and I, Clyde and Lucien, then these two other girls who we never met. Owen and Jackson were still mysteriously absent and I grew worried about them, but that worrisome faded away when we rushed outside to see one of the canoes was missing. Since we were in an alliance, Lucien and Clyde didn't mind bringing us to Charcoal Beach and letting us win. However, our raft was destroyed days before so only two canoes remained, but this morning the six of us went out to the dock to see one of them had puzzlingly vanished. Clyde and Lucien's canoe floated there securely.

"You little miscreants!" the girl with green hair tied up in a high pony tail exclaimed in suspicion.

"You brats sunk our boat didn't you?" the second girl assumed rudely. She had shoulder length lavender hair partly pulled behind her ears with barrettes.

"What? No we didn't!" I gasped, stunned they had assumed we did such an unfair and illegal thing.

"Hey, we want to win this thing fair and square! We would never sink your canoe in order to get ahead!" Lucien shouted back, trying to convince the judgmental teenage girls.

"I have an idea, let's battle for the last one," the green hair girl challenged.

"Fine with us," I agreed, Penny and me stepping forward. "Let's make it a double battle," I suggested.

"The more the merrier," the girl replied with a determined grin. "My name is Lyla by the way, and you'll never beat us!"

"And my name is Marcy," the purple haired girl introduced herself. Their outfits were very colorful and unique. Lyla wore cerulean blue under armor shorts with a blue and green polka dotted tank top that went together quite nicely. She also wore lime green running sneakers and a silver heart locket around her neck. Marcy wore a floral baby doll styled tank top, printed with pink and blue carnations all over the fabric. She also wore blue under armor shorts with pink running shoes. Both their outfits were very athletic yet fashionable while matching nicely.

"Ready to meet your maker?" Penny asked the girls confidently.

"Wait a minute you guys," Lucien placed his hand on my shoulder. "Clyde and I built the canoe, so don't you think we should battle them?" he asked.

"Uh," I responded, no words forming between my lips.

"Are you sure?" Penny asked some what disappointed.

"It's no problem with me," Clyde answered smoothly.

"Alright," Penny and I shrugged while stepping aside. Lucien's Spinarak crawled down his leg then sat on the sand, absorbing the sun's morning warmth. Clyde then relinquished a Pokeball containing a large, russet skinned bull with three tails and sharp horns extending out of its forehead.

_Tauros, the bull Pokemon. Once Tauros takes aim at its foe, it makes a headlong charge. Tauros is famous for its violent nature, _Dexter informed.

Before the match had commenced, I spotted an elderly woman poking her head out from the side of a palm tree. Right away I recognized it was the fortune teller and began to run towards her. I circled the tropical tree searching for the psychic. She appeared once again behind another tree in the distant, lush forest. I chased after the reappearing woman, trying not to loose my sense of direction as I ran further and further from the Pokemon Center.

"I'm not letting you get away this time. I'm ganna find out why you keep following me," I muttered under my breath.

Set up under a broad, lush elm tree was a card table with moons and stars distributed all over it. Two chairs sat across from one another and a deck of astronomy based cards sat in the center of the rectangular table.

I smirked while silently mumbling to myself , "So, I guess the fortune teller and I will finally meet again," I assumed timidly while rubbing my chin lightly. I seated myself on one of the metal folding chairs and awaited for the mysterious woman's arrival.

"All this time I thought I was crazy, seeing her all over the place, but I guess she has something to tell me through these weird cards again," I sighed while folding my hands on top of the table patiently.

"You are correct," the elderly woman replied then materialized like a ghost right before my eyes.

"How did you do that!?" I gasped. "You just… like… teleported!" I stammered in amazement.

"Since our last visit my skill has grown and I can see yours has too," she responded calmly.

"What do you mean?" I raised a brow.

The old woman chuckled then began to shuffle her cards, "Your aura is much different then last time dear Kylie, you are much more mature and have learned a lot over your journey. But-"

"But what?"

The fortune teller placed the cards to her left before letting out a light sigh, "You still need to learn more about your future,"

"Why did you bring me here? Why are you following me? What do you want?" I asked in aggravation, becoming impatient with the woman. "I've been sitting here for like 20 minutes yet you haven't given me any answers,"

"I guess some of the boy's rudeness has rubbed off on you," she giggled while rubbing her shriveled knee through the thick violet fabric.

I pulled back stunned and some what weirded out, "How do you know who Owen is?"

"I know a lot Kylie," she laughed in an odd hiss. "Enough questions, time for some answers," she declared, I sighed in relief. "I brought you here because you refuse to realize your destiny,"

"I have no destiny. I'm just a normal kid traveling on their Pokemon journey. Destinies are for like people in Yu-Gi-Oh," I refuted uncooperatively.

"Each person has their own destiny, some just may seem more important then others," said the physic. "Please, child, pick the top three cards from this deck and lie them face down in order," she instructed. I sighed and did as the woman wished. "Now, place your hand on this one," she pointed to card farthest to the left. She then placed her wrinkled, clammy hand on top of mine. I tapped my fingers against the table impatiently and avoided watching the woman meditate in the awkward silence. She then asked me to place my hand on the middle card. I did so. The fortune teller began to hum to herself once again. After a few moments we did the same procedure with the last card on the right. I quickly pulled my hand back, which had become moist on the surface due to her hand overlapping mine.

"I can see you are very uneasy and intolerant during this fortune telling, is there something bothering you?" the fortune teller asked.

"I'm supposed to be rooting for Lucien and winning this race, but here I am getting some stupid fortune cookie handed to me that won't even come true," I exasperated.

She clucked her lips in pity while shaking her head, "I can see there is a lot more than that," she shut her eyes like she was unlocking the entrance to my mind. "I can see that you are afraid if I finish with my reading, you will discover that your fortune is true," the wise woman declared.

I flushed in humiliation, "NO I AM NOT!"

Without warning, the fortune teller flipped over the three cards in sequence. The first was a detailed drawing of a sun with a prudent looking face painted on it. The middle was ashen star, drawn realistically blinding on the face of the card. The third was two young people caressing each other's lips, a starry filled night surrounding them.

"Your fortune is quite clear, young Kylie," she hummed in satisfaction.

"What does it say?" I asked eagerly.

"Kylie Scorch, there is a very critical lesson you have yet to learn," she informed me.

_What the heck? What kind of fortune is that?_ I thought to myself in disappointment.

"This lesson is sacrifice, you may lose a great deal, but the reward you gain is far greater then the loss you must suffer," she continued, then collected her cards and placed them in her pocket.

"Sounds like a load of crap," I crossed my arms and murmured.  
She revealed her golden, rotting teeth by smiling serenely, "Don't think you can hide anything from me just by muttering,"

"This is stupid, it's just giving me even more questions," I complained in a moan.

"Your questions will be answered soon enough,"

"What sacrifice am I going to have to make? When is this going to happen? How will I know if I'm ready?" I interrogated in frustration.

"Just remember one thing," the fortune teller closed her eyes calmly.

"What?"

Her voice echoed before she gradually faded away like an apparition, "True love is blind!"

There's that saying again.


	59. Crossing The Finish Line

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

"There it is!" Penny cried in cheer, pointing towards the island enlarging before us. A monstrous volcano towered in the sky and sandy shoreline greeted us as our boat sailed towards Cinnabar.

"We finally made it you guys! All our hard work has paid off!" I said happily, sun beaming on my face and wind twirling my hair.

"You and Penny will finally be the winners of The Race to Cinnabar Island," Lucien smiled pleasantly, not bothered by letting us win.

"Are you sure you want to let us just… win?" I asked him, guilt sinking in. After all, they were the two to save us off the Seafoam Island and win the canoe over those other girls. They deserved to cross the finish line first. "You guys deserve it more then we do," I continued.

Penny nodded in agreement.

"No way, you guys have been through so much these last couple of days," Lucien waved his hands in refusal. "Clyde and me were never attacked by giant birds or anything," he chuckled softly.

"Thanks," Penny and I smiled gratefully.

Our small ship barged onto the russet sand, practically crashing into a large boulder. Gloria and her crew waited there, a stop watch in her hand and people cheering at her side. A small grin of victory appeared on my face as Penny, Lucien, Clyde, and I all hopped out of our canoe. Lucien and Clyde nodded reassuringly at us with adorable smiles, Penny and I nodded back before running towards the finish line. This long, hard journey was almost over. All the storms and struggles we suffered through would finally pay off. We had won!

Like finishing a marathon, locals and tourists pressured each other up against the fencing that blocked them off from inching towards the white finish line. They patted our shoulders and shouted in glee as the four of us passed through. Penny followed behind me, then Clyde and Lucien respectfully waited to earn second place. And there it was. The chalk, colorless, dull line painted at the tips of our toes. It was amazing how such a meaningless stripe could be of such significance.

"Ready?" I inhaled deeply before asking Penny, smiling ear to ear.

"Yep," she replied cheerily.

There Gloria, the chief of The Race to Cinnabar Island, stood, her wrinkled grin sparkling like the fourth of July. Everyone roared in excitement as Penny and I stepped over the end mark, cameras flashed for the local papers and people envied our achievement. At last, we had won. Or at least we thought we did.

There they stood, smiling evilly in all their glory. Arms crossed and undying smirks plastered across their dumb little heads. Yeah, it was Owen and Jackson with first place gold medals dangling around their necks. I wanted to ring their necks, that's what I would've liked to do.

I stormed over, Penny backing me up, both our faces red with spite and rage. And more rage.

"Owen!? Jackson!? What the hell you guys!" I shouted in extreme anger. I could feel steam floating from the top of my head and my fists clenched at my sides so tightly they shook. My shoulders quivered trickling all the way down my legs. My entire body was shaking due to my overpowering wrath. I had never felt so infuriated in my entire life.

"How the heck did you guys get here before us!?" Penny shouted full of shock and anger.

"Simple, we never stopped once," Owen snickered, analyzing his nails cockily.

"You have no idea… how badly I want to punch you guys right now," I seethed through my teeth.

"Kylie, don't be disrespectful, turn around and accept your _second_ place prize," Owen mocked, doing a spinning motion with his hands. That devilish indescribable smirk still remained on his annoying, little, stupid face.

I slowly turned to see Gloria holding two silver medals with blue bands in her sagging, boney hands. Since she was so short, Penny and I had to get on our knees in order for the woman to place the medals around our necks. The crowd cheered once again, but being the poor sport I was, I wasn't enjoying it like they were. Next, Gloria placed third place bronze medals around Lucien and Clyde's necks, they too seemed disappointed.

Gloria then proclaimed enthusiastically, "Let's hear it for our top three winners of the 75th annual Race to Cinnabar Island! Congratulations to the teams of Owen and Jackson, Kylie and Penny, and last but least, Clyde and Lucien! You three teams were the only ones to make it to Charcoal Beach, you should all be very proud of your accomplishments!" Gloria proclaimed, choking up slightly.

None of us could be. We were all too busy angrily glaring at the two conniving boys. The whole race I was worrying about Owen and Jackson falling behind, but they were actually ahead the entire time. Lucien even offered to help us in order to win, but that didn't even help in the long run.

Unexpectedly, Jackson shyly walked up to Penny, hiding something behind his back. He blushed before offering the girl a pale green stone. "This was one of the evolution stones we won. I know you love grass type Pokemon, and you've talked about evolving your Eevee into a Leafeon, so I want you to have it," he insisted kindly, trying to hand the valuable stone to her.

Penny watched the stone, as if it was going to jump out of his hands and run off, she picked up her head and glared at the boy before replying harshly, "No."

"What?"

"I don't want it," Penny looked away insensitively.

"I want you to have it," Jackson said, crushed by her cruel refusal.

"I can evolve and take care of my Pokemon without your help, thank you very much," Penny snuffed before storming off.

"What's her problem?" Owen whispered to me.

"C'mon Owen, like an evolution stone is the most romantic gift," I kidded sarcastically.

"The kid was just trying to do something nice for the chick!" he began to shout.

I quickly replied, "Like an evolution stone isn't insulting? How would you feel if you got one from Amber?"

"I would keep it," he spat. "I don't know how it was insulting. At least he puts her first, unlike you," he seethed in disgust.

"But-" I attempted to interrupt.

"No, maybe you should consider other people's feelings before your own. You won second place now suck it up!" Owen then chucked a fiery orange stone onto the ground before leaving the premises. A basic red fire logo was painted on the shinning, yellow stone, and then it hit me.

"Owen was going to give me this fire stone…" I muttered sadly as I picked up the rare rock.

Lucien approached me, a small, warm, sympathetic smile on his face. He loosely put his arm around my shoulder while looking up at the late afternoon sun, "Crazy day, and I'm sorry we got here too late,"

"You don't have to apologize, I don't even deserve to win after the way I reacted," I bowed my head, disappointed in myself. "God, I'm such an idiot!" I screeched while throwing the fire stone down to the pavement as hard as I could. If matters couldn't get any worse, the valuable rock had cracked in half. The two chunks rolled away from one another.

"You have a right to be upset," Lucien told me as he put his arm back at his side. "I mean first you basically drown in some storm, then pirates take you to some deathly bird's island where they next stranded you. C'mon Kylie, you aren't giving yourself enough sympathy," Lucien laughed, trying to cheer me up.

"I still feel horrible," I murmured. "I need to find Owen," I finally announced.

"Do you know where he went?" Lucien asked.

"No idea,"

"Kylie, I want to give you something first," Lucien put his hand in his jean pocket, fishing for the item.

"Not another present…" I quietly muffled to myself before secretly rolling my eyes.

Lucien pulled out a small, black, velvet box. Right away I knew it was some sort of jewelry. I lingered there until he grew the courage to open the box and reveal a silver band with small flames engraved on it, encircling the glistening ring.

"Oh my god," blurted out of my mouth.

"Do you like it?" he asked, his cheeks turning rosy.

"Of course I like it! I love it!" I clapped my hands together happily.

Lucien inhaled deeply and quivered slightly, I could see he was nervous about what he was about to ask me. It actually surprised me that Lucien was nervous, he was one of the most laid back people I knew.

He finally gulped then asked, "Kylie, will you wear my promise ring?"


	60. Nightmares in Paradise

**A/N: Ok guys, since none of the keyboard symbols work on fanfiction i'm just going to put 1234, which means the text in between them are Kylie's dream sequences. Orginally I had the squiggly next to the exclaimation mark but that doesn't work for some stupid reason. Anywho, enjoy!**

Chapter 60

I sat there that night lying cozily in my sleeping bag. Penny nodded off to sleep beside me, and Owen and Jackson remained missing. The crackling fire shimmered between us. Yawning shadows danced on the trunks of trees as a wistful wind ran through our hair.  
My nuisance of a mind kept thinking about Owen and how I hurt him earlier that day. It was official, the guilt had completely sunk in. A cruel, insensitive zombie had possessed me causing me to say all those hurtful things, if only that were true. I said it all right, bitchy old me.  
I held the two pieces of fire stone in my hands, repeatedly connecting them back together like a puzzle, then pulling them apart again. _Man, I wish I never chucked this thing and made it break_, I thought to myself. I placed the fire stone by my head then fell asleep.

1234

Absentmindedly, I walked into a typical looking Pokemon gym, the domed, red, shinning roof with the automatic glass doors. Inside there was the white paint lines of a Pokemon battle field. The Pokeball symbol printed in the center. It was oddly dark until a surprising, florescent light flashed on and focused on the opposing trainer's standing box. It appeared empty. Without thinking, as if a spirit was controlling my body, I stepped into my side's trainer box. I waited, I wasn't sure what for but I waited. Finally, a mysterious shadow emerged and stomped into the white box. He looked a little taller then me and he had jagged, messy hair. Flame symbols danced on the walls of the gym and torches also lined hung in medieval like receptacles.  
"Who are you!?" I remember saying.  
"I am the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader," he responded in a deep, godly voice.  
"Show yourself!" I commanded.  
The man stepped forward and revealed his physic to be exactly like Owen's!  
"Owen!?" I gasped.  
Without saying a word Owen grabbed an orange stone as if he was about to toss a Pokeball. He chucked the fire stone down to the ground and just like a Pokemon emerging from the light of a Pokeball, the painting we discovered in the abandoned mansion months ago popped out. It was the two young adults holding hands, both looked almost exactly like Owen and me. Then Owen laughed loudly and evilly, shaking his arms crazily while tilting his head back.  
"NOW WATCH IT BURN!" he screamed as it was randomly engulfed in flames.

1234

I shot up from the ground, sweat covering my body as I breathed heavily from the frightening dream. I glanced out at the swaying ocean waves to calm me. I plopped my head back down to the synthetic material but kept my eyes opened widely. I was too afraid to close them again because I thought I might see that disturbing image of Owen laughing wickedly.  
"It was just a dream…" I muffled to myself, wiping the perspiration from my forehead before turning over in my sleeping bag. It couldn't be avoided, just as I closed my eyes the slightest I sunk into another awful nightmare.

1234

I glimpsed down to see I had earned 8 badges that were stored in a silver case. I continued to walk robotically, heading forward into a cloud of fog. It was just me walking along a dirt path with a moist, hazy, white atmosphere surrounding me. Charmander walked at my side while we finally reached our destination. It was the Indigo League, towering in all its certified glory. Charmander climbed up my back and sat on my shoulder as we materialized through the doors. I didn't react to this in anyway, I just continued to walk.  
I arrived at a random river and crawled into a canoe similar to the ones we made for the race. It slowly drifted across the gently flowing river and I began to whistle peacefully. Suddenly, another canoe sailed beside us and barged into ours. The crash caused a puncture in the small vessel and we rapidly began to sink. The canoe beside me grabbed Charmander and let me flail in the water, alone. I swam to the edge to see sneakers at my nose. I gradually lifted my head, afraid to see who possessed these shoes.  
It was Owen, once again. He had that sinful, pompous smirk on and held my Charmander by his tail. In his other hand he held a fire stone. He tapped Charmander with the fire stone and the Pokemon began to glow. Owen dropped the transforming creature as it began to shape shift.  
"Impossible, Charmanders can only evolve by leveling them up," I protested.  
Owen did not reply, that smirk still remaining on his face as the transformation was complete. Charmander had turned into a massive, brawny Charizard, his final evolved stage. The beast shot a blast of fire up towards the endless sky before intimidating me with a glare. I still floated there, clinging to the shoreline of the river.  
"Burn her badges to a crisp!" Owen ordered, pointing at my silver case that sat before the powerful Pokemon.  
Charizard bowed his head and unleashed an unbelievably strong fire blast which turned my badges to ash.  
"No, my dreams!" I cried.

1234

I was awoken by my racing heart, it pounded like a metronome as I leaned on my forearm gasping in air. I collapsed back down to the ground once I stopped breathing so heavily. Sweat drenched my T-shirt to a point where I felt like getting up and diving into the cool ocean. I refrained from doing anything regrettable. I flipped over to see Penny, slumbering quietly with her light brown hair covering her face. I tried to shut my eyes but the horrifying nightmares kept replaying in my head, and even newer modified scenarios felt the need to expose themselves to my already frightened mind. After that I couldn't fall asleep.  
"Nice ring," Penny complimented the next morning as she slipped her jade, rubber rain boots over her lime green socks.  
"Thanks," I muttered miserably, covering my eyes from the rising sun.  
The morning was especially sunny and hot. The humid air stuck to my throat and heated my cheek bones. We were going to have to get used to the new tropical climate. Right away people began to appear on Charcoal Beach. Families came to enjoy the crisp ocean and bake in the autumn sun. Although it was verging on winter, Cinnabar never got that chilly since it was so far down south. Penny noticed I was especially tired and I explained my odd dreams to her.  
"What do you think caused them?" she asked.  
"I told Owen that an evolution stone was a stupid gift and now he hates me," I explained. "I don't know if that's what is making me have these awful dreams though,"  
She nodded understandingly, "That's why you have those two chunks of rock in your bag,"  
"Yeah- hey, why were you going through my stuff!?" I shot up and asked the sneaky girl.  
She smiled, attempting to look innocent, "To read Owen's book. Just to let you know, I've been reading it almost every single night,"  
A powerful, brisk wind over passed and made strands of my lengthening brown hair whip me in the face. I pealed the threads off my brow and tucked them behind my ears.  
"He seems to mention you a lot," Penny giggled teasingly.  
"I don't want to know anything!" I warned her.  
Penny and I headed into town listening for any news about the Cinnabar Gym and its location. We walked along on the busy roads when I heard a random scoff from behind us. I stopped to turn around then caused this scrawny 65 year old woman to bump into me. Once she scrambled past me I spotted Zane crossing his arms. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and aviator sunglasses.  
"If it isn't little Scorch, not only late but merely second place prize winner in the Race to Cinnabar Island too," he mocked, removing his burnt orange sunglasses to expose his evil grin.  
"I don't see you winning any competitions," I fired back.  
He puffed out a faint chuckle of pity, "I don't need to win any competitions, I've already earned the most badges out of all the kids that left from Pallet," he bragged.  
"Oh yeah, how many is that?"  
"If I told you it would only make you feel worse," he cocked his head back while laughing up at the sky.  
"Why don't you and your ugly face just leave me alone," I narrowed my eyes angrily.  
"Ohhh, I'm so hurt," he put his hand over his heart and pretended to faint. "You're wasting your time anyway, rumor has it there is no gym on this island. Tourists took over and your grandpa must've gotten sick of battling against the pathetic losers,"  
I rolled my eyes, "I think I'd know whether my own grandfather still has a gym or not, he promised me a Pokemon battle and I expect one,"  
"Okay little Scorch, have fun wasting your time and falling behind the rest of the group even more," Zane waved before strutting off.  
I clenched my fists in aggravation as the annoying boy walked away, "I... can't… stand… him…" I seethed through my grinding teeth.  
Later that afternoon Penny and I walked through town keeping our eye for any building that resembled an official Pokemon League Gym. All the buildings we passed were either restaurants or souvenir shops. Booths of tacky clothing and cheap, plastic novelty items lined the roads which were crowded with tourists. Pathetic souls that thought wearing fanny packs and socks with sandals was the style, I just looked away in pity. The aroma of fried dough and cotton candy rolled into our noses and caused my stomach to growl, asking for the high calorie snacks. My legs were getting tired after all the searching and I just wanted a place to rest, but every bench was covered by an overweight vacationer. Supper time was creeping closer so my empty stomach was mumbling louder as if an earthquake was erupting inside my abdomen. I held my ribs, trying to keep the sound from traveling any further for the strangers passing by to hear.  
"Someone's hungry," Penny laughed jokingly.  
I moaned from the nagging starvation, "I need fooood,"  
"Then buy something," Penny sighed intolerantly.  
"I don't have any money," I whined. "And I'm soooo hungry,"  
"You there!" a voice called over from one of the booths. A man standing behind a counter filled with cheap jewelry wagged his finger. He had greasy black hair and wore an apron with no shirt under it. His sweaty chest hairs crawled from underneath the fabric and made me loose my appetite. He had some crumbs stuck in his prickly five o'clock shadow and showed his golden, rotting teeth. His thick accent made it hard to understand him.  
"You sell that ring, yah?" he leaned towards me, smiling eagerly.  
"I don't think so," I waved my hands in refusal. Just then, he grabbed my wrist and refrained me from walking away. "Let go of me!" I shouted causing people strolling by to stare.  
"I give you 20 dollar!" he insisted, not removing his clammy grip from my arm.  
"She said let go!" Penny yelled, trying to yank his arm away from mine.  
Finally, he let go and Penny and I immediately ran away. The sun was setting and we eventually found a bench to rest on. The number of people was dying down and the merchants were beginning to pack up for the night. Penny and I began to laugh when both of our stomachs grumbled from malnutrition at the same time. A clock tower's ringing of 8 o'clock shook the island and scared some Pidgeotto that were singing on a flag pole near by. I closed my eyes, ignoring my hunger but now wanting sleep, it had been a long day of walking around and browsing. I actually had forgotten about Owen and Jackson until to our surprise Austin found us. He winked at Penny and me before sitting between us. Austin rested his arms on the back of the wooden bench, just brushing our shoulders.  
"So Owen and Jackson got a little PMSy on you guys, huh?" he joked.  
"Have you seen them?" Penny asked in concern.  
"No, however the Cinnabar Contest Hall is holding a contest in a few days, maybe they went there," Austin guessed.  
"Dude, Austin, you are so awesome, thanks for your help!" I stammered gratefully.  
"No problem, sweet cheeks," he smiled charmingly. "So is finding those boys the only reason you came here?" he asked, trying to change the topic.  
"My grandpa is the owner of the gym here, so yeah, we're hoping to find it soon so the both of us can challenge him," I informed.  
The boy yawned before getting up and stretching his arms, "I have to get going, I'll see you ladies around," he clucked his cheeks before winking and firing a hand gun at us.  
At this point the streets were completely empty besides a few street Meowth that ate the littered food on the paved roads. Penny and I sulked around, looking for a hotel to stay at. Each one we visited said they were booked for the rest of the "busy season", whatever the heck that was.  
It had grown completely dark, shadows of trees overlapping the visibility of the road beneath our feet. A loud thump startled me. I looked down to see Penny's face planted in the ground. She pounded her fists and feet repeatedly to the floor, squirming like a 5 year old spas' attack. Quiet tapping marched towards us, Penny slid back on her knees and I began to backpedal, scared that it might be the pedophile of a vender that grabbed me before. Surprisingly, Jackson stepped out from the creepy shadows with a warm smile of forgiveness. He knelt forward, reaching his hand out kindly to help Penny off the ground.  
"I heard someone trip and I came over to see it was you guys," Jackson chuckled. "Guess someone forgot how to walk," he joked.  
"A tad bit hard when you can't exactly see where you're going," Penny flushed as Jackson pulled her up. The two's eyes remained connected like an invincible magnetic force.  
"Aw, are you two having a special moment?" I teased, clapping my hands together up to my chin. They swiftly broke eye contact in order to glare angrily at me. Then, an awkward pause drifted upon us, not knowing what to ask or what to say. Should I ask him what he's done all day? Or get to the point and ask where Owen is?  
"Well," Jackson began, scratching the back of his head. "This isn't awkward at all," he kidded. We shared a laugh.  
"Where's Owen?" Penny asked curiously. "Did big, meanie Austin beat him up?"  
"Austin's here?" Jackson's face contorted out of detestation.  
"We just saw him like an hour ago," I informed him, pulling back in case he would explode and spew hatred everywhere.  
"Well, I have no clue where Owen is," Jackson sighed.  
Penny and I gasped in shock and disappointment, "You mean you haven't seen him since yesterday?" I asked keenly.  
"Nope,"  
"Then where could he be!?"

**A/N: PSJ will be on hiatus for a while, but stay tuned and stay awesome!**


	61. The Reveal

**A/N: Yupe, PSJ is back! Sorry for the hiatus, but I had a little creative block and plus I went through a flash drive tragedy. Unfortunately, a couple weeks ago all the files on my flash drive corrupted. Which included new chapters of PSJ and two other stories I was planning on adding to fanfiction very soon, but now both those stories are gone and the new chapter of PSJ was also deleted. So then I had to rewrite it and of course it came out worse the second time. But yeah, this situation really sucked because I couldn't wait to add my two new stories. I guess I was just taught a lesson for not backing up my files. Anyway, enough author's note and more PSJ! So on with the reading!**

Chapter 61

The next day we sent out a search party for Owen. The team of Penny, Jackson, and Kylie. Yeah, the "Supreme Team" Penny kept insisting we call ourselves. Penny and Jackson scanned the beach and I had heard about a famous Pokemon Laboratory on Cinnabar, so I went to look there. I highly doubted Owen would be there, his lack of interest in anything academic or scientific made it a given, but it was the only place I could think of.

I journeyed my way through the labyrinth of vacationers and finally spotted the large, white Laboratory towering in the background. Rotating doors greeted me with elegant statues of different fire type Pokemon waving hello. A copper Rapidash whinnied beside a glistening, bronze Arcanine, they reminded me of my Rapidash and Growlithe. I entered through the spinning doors and found myself in a cramped greeting room. Faded, mocha splattered walls warped around a few maroon love seats and a front desk. A young woman wearing a headset pounded on the keyboard rapidly before looking up to welcome me. Her bouncy, curled blue hair tickled her earlobes which caressed pearl earrings. A pearl necklace dangled around her neck and she wore a sky blue woman's suit with a black skirt. She had a triangular face and dull brown eyes but she fashioned black mascara attempting to look more dazzling.

"Welcome to the Cinnabar Laboratory, a tour of the facilities starts in just 25 minutes if you care to take part in it. If you would like to just wonder by yourself feel free, refrain from touching anything or entering any doors that says 'Authorized Personal Only'. Please enjoy your visit," she recited, sounding robotic and rehearsed. I smiled then walked passed the counter. The expensive décor of the entire laboratory intimidated me a bit, I felt like I was trespassing in someone's fancy mansion. I entered an open doorway which branched into a hallway. Numerous doors lead into other experimental rooms with Pokemon and scientists. One room a girl offered to trade my Growlithe for her Seel, I shot down the offer immediately. The room beside that contained the generator which distributed all the heat and electricity through out the massive laboratory. In the next room I found a couple of men dressed in black outfits. The front of their shirts had a capitol, bold R on them and one of the goons wore a black beret. I hid behind the door before closing it completely, listening in on their suspicious conversation.

"Those idiots think we're actually doctors here," one snickered.  
"Have you got the trapped set up?" another asked.  
"All set, we'll have all those Pokemon snatched up and they won't be able to stop us!" the third laughed wickedly. "The plan is commencing in ten minutes, you go tinker with the controls and make sure they're set, I want there to be enough time for us to get out of here when the bomb goes off," he continued.  
"BOMB!?" I shrieked, then cupped my mouth realizing I had screamed it aloud. The three looked at the entrance, the chubbier one walked over and closed the door, not realizing I was standing right behind it. I quickly dove behind some cardboard boxes before they spotted me.  
"Don't screw this up, it's our last chance to impress the boss," the skinnier and devilish leader snapped at the two others.  
"We won't let you down," they saluted before marching out the door.  
"I have to warn everyone and get them out!" I whispered to myself as the goons exited the room. "They must work for Team Rocket!" I concluded.

I quickly sprinted out the door and immediately headed for the receptionist's desk. She looked up from her busy typing and simply smiled, indicating that I was allowed to talk. I speedily told her what I had heard, but she just laughed once I had finished my story. I hastily ordered her to call the manager, or whoever was in charge of this place. She dialed the number and began to chat with a person on her headset. The secretary pressed the hang-up button then timidly glanced into my eyes.

"The police are on their way," she smiled. I felt like screaming at her "THIS IS NOT A TIME TO BE SMILING!", but I guess it was her way of staying calm. The woman cautiously logged off her computer then leisurely stood up from her chair. Taking her time by fixing her skirt and tucking her hair behind her ears, then she pattered towards the wall and pulled the fire alarm. Moments later scientists of all ages jogged outside with small Pokemon in their arms.  
"There's still more Pokemon that need help getting out," a tall, middle aged scientist informed the receptionist as he ran by.  
Immediately, I dashed back to the hallway and poked my head in each door, searching for Pokemon that need assistance in evacuating. The last door on the left contained numerous Pokemon lounging about, being studied by other scientists ignoring the fire alarm.  
"Everyone needs to get out! Quick, take the Pokemon!" I instructed, beginning to shake from nervousness.  
"The fire alarm system has been working incorrectly lately, we know it's just a malfunction," one British, snobby researcher snubbed as he pushed his glasses back on his nose.  
"It isn't, trust me! Members of Team Rocket snuck in here and set up a bomb!" I warned.  
The Pokemon examiners laughed, "Like we should believe a child such as yourself,"  
"You have to believe me! Why would I lie about something like this?" I asked in frustration, tugging on one of the researcher's arms. "All these Pokemon are in danger, you have to-"  
"Silence, I've had enough of you," the physician hushed intolerantly, then ordered his group of interns back to work.  
"I don't have time for this, I have to warn the others," I grinded my teeth with annoyance.  
I rushed to the doorway and turned the corner to see another door. I assumed it lead into another room filled with uninformed people of the bomb. I quickly tugged on the handle and it opened up to be a lightless storage closet. Shelves of cleaning products and maintenance tools squared the tiny pantry in.

To my surprise, two people were making out in the back corner, knocking over the broom. When the two heard the crack of the broom stick smacking the floor they stopped their kissing and looked up to see me awkwardly standing in the door frame. To my surprise, Owen, his blonde hair ratted up and messed about, was the one kissing the young, female scientist. Her long, wavy, fire red hair also chaotic, her lip gloss smeared all around Owen's neck. She wore skinny framed glasses and a lab coat over her skimpy tank top and short business skirt.

"Get out!" I demanded to the naïve girl and pointed down the hallway. Before casually strutting out of the closet, she rolled her eyes at me and gave Owen one last peck on the cheek. "Didn't you hear the fire alarm?" I asked irritably.  
Owen licked the flavored lip gloss off his lips before giggling, "No fire could've made that make out session any hotter,"  
"Ugh, let's go!" I grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the closet. As I stomped towards the exit with Owen dragging behind me I then joked, "You can practice taking girls' bras off later,"  
"Are you willing to volunteer?" Owen chortled.

Just as he finished slurring that out, a thunderous, ear shattering bang shook the island. Flames tunneled their way into the corridor and engulfed the entire building into an immediate, blazing fire. Owen and I fell to ground from the earthquake of an explosion. Intensely hot flames whipped the air and blanketed the walls of the room, cornering us towards the center. Beams above our heads cracked and plunged to the floor. Floor tiles exploded into the air from the building quickly beginning to collapse, each of us covered our mouths as we raced to the doorway. Ash covered my legs and it became difficult to breathe with black smog overwhelming the oxygen filled air. I climbed over broken beams and jumped through bundles of constantly growing fire until I finally had reached the front room. I could see people gathering around the burning building while police officers and fire fighters began to assemble.

I looked over my shoulder while coughing the smoke out of my lungs, I spotted an emptiness behind me. No Owen. I sprung forward, realizing he must've gotten left behind. I reached the door we had got caught in the explosion in. I opened it to see a room absorbed with fire, smoke made it unfeasible to see and immense heat burned the surface of my skin. I shouted as loud as I could, the unfathomable roar the fire created drowned out my voice, making it impossible for me to even hear myself. I stepped over some burning electronics and passed by some smoldering machines when I reached the back corner to see a human cowering from the inferno surrounding them. I dashed over but a wall of flames blocked me from reaching them.  
I quickly clenched a Pokeball from my belt and sent out Totodile. He would've normally been thrilled to be released from his Pokeball, but the ever intensifying combustion startled the water type.

"Totodile, use water gun!" I shouted.  
Totodile inhaled deeply, causing himself to cough from the irritating, toxic smog. Totodile shook his head to recover then drenched the blockade of flames with his water gun. The blaze slowly died down in that area, I hurried across it like an open bridge and knelt down to help the trapped soul. I narrowed my eyes and rubbed out the irritation to perceive Owen sitting before me. My heart rate slowed and I sighed in relief.  
"Owen, are you alright?!" I yelled over the constant grumble of the fire.  
He simply replied with a fearful whimper as he clutched his knees and rocked back and forth. I placed my hand out for him to grab but the boy was petrified. Rolling my eyes out of aggravation I then swung my arm under his and situated his weight onto my shoulders. We hobbled down the hallway, avoiding the flames that spurted suddenly and lashed through the thin air. We had made it to the front room and burst out the spiral doors.  
The crowd cheered for my "heroic" deed and fire fighters marched into the building while others hosed it down. The fire was just getting started, other mini explosions were setting off and the top floor collapsed on the one bellow it. I returned Totodile to rest in his Pokeball, before jogging over to the local, one of many, Officer Jennys. She stood broad and stern, never taking her eyes off the lab as she held a walky-talky up to her mouth.  
"Excuse me, Officer Jenny," I said politely.  
"What do you want?! I'm busy! Can't you see that I'm trying to take care of this burning building!?" she faced me then shouted. Her aggravated expression melted to an apologetic smile, "I am so sorry, I thought you were another officer. How can I help you?"  
"Did we get those Pokemon back from Team Rocket?" I asked in great concern and interest.  
"I'm glad to say that we did, the three goons are in a police car over there, ready to drive off to prison," she explained, folding her arms happily.  
"So the Pokemon are safe?" I leaned forward eagerly.  
She sighed then smiled, "Yes, they are all safe and sound. Now if you don't mind, I have some matters to take care of," Officer Jenny pushed passed me then started barking into her walky-talky.

I wheeled around, darting my head in all directions and noticed that Owen was no where in sight. As I slightly scanned the crowd for the boy, water droplets began to descend from the darkening sky, now populated by stirring storm clouds. Finally, I looked aside to see Owen dash away into the close by forest. I chased after the frightened boy, following him into the lush, tropical woods. Passing palm trees, climbing through bushes, and stomping through mud, I continued to look for the blonde haired boy. I could hear his faint sobbing, even through the downpour of rain. A boom of thunder startled me followed by a piercing crack of lightening. The harsh, continuous rain pounded against my head, it was so rough my ponytail holder could not win against it. My wet strands of hair fell past my ears and stuck to my neck.  
Ignoring my uncomfortably wet shirt, hair, and socks, I climbed through another leafy bush to see Owen sitting on a fallen log, his head buried in the baggy sleeves of his sweatshirt.  
"Owen?" I spoke gently.  
He didn't reply, he just continued on with his soft sniffling. When another crack of lightening shot down from the clouds I took another step closer towards him, wiping the rain from my face. To my surprise, he didn't seem to care that I was standing there. What ever caused him to become so upset wasn't stopping him from manning up in front of me. I had never seen one of the male species cry before, and it was painful to watch. I felt more sympathy towards Owen then any other person I had seen cry before.

It felt safe enough to sit beside him, so I sulked over zombie-like and slumped onto the tree trunk, starring forward at the empty forest. I slightly adjusted my jaw, ready to say something but it was as if a cork was stuck down my throat and nothing could come out.  
I silently cleared my throat before growing the courage to loosely wrap my arm around his shoulder comfortingly. Rain had completely drenched our bodies and the constant pitter-patter of water droplets against the earth made it hard to hear whether Owen had mumbled anything yet. I listened closely, slightly aiming my ear towards him.  
Eventually, he leaned backward, revealing his skin so pale it was as grey as a ghost's and his swollen, red eyes.  
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked sympathetically. He turned his head and gave me the most depressing, blank stare I have ever received. It was as if a black hole sucked the emotion from his face.  
He blinked the rain from his lashes then finally replied as a jolt of lightening snapped a far away tree, "There's nothing to talk about,"  
"It's quite obvious you're upset," I pointed out while sweeping the wet strands of hair off my face.  
"Do you know what it is like… to wake up every morning knowing… you don't have any family to go home to?" he asked, clawing angrily at the wrinkles in his jeans.  
I remained speechless, I was too afraid to answer.  
"I never thought I would tell you this… but I guess you ought to find out sooner or later," he gripped his dripping, dirty blonde hair while letting out an aggravated sigh. "My family died in a house fire when I was seven,"

"Y-your family?" I stuttered in shock.  
Owen inhaled deeply, "My mom, my dad, and my little brother. I was the only lucky one to survive. To this day I don't understand why I was the only one to make it out," he paused, catching his breath and collecting himself, "You must think I'm a big pussy for making such a big deal out of this,"  
I quickly answered, "No, I don't. I think you're one of the strongest and bravest people I know, Owen," I placed my arms around the boy and embraced him tightly. The rain let up and the clear moon rose into the frosty sky. I stood up, fixing my shirt and tucking my hair behind my ears before placing my hand out before the boy. He glanced up and smiled at the gesture. His fingers intertwined with mine and I hauled him upward from the log. We smiled at each other reassuringly before walking back to town.


	62. Journey Inside The Volcano

Chapter 62

Chapter 62

A few days later Owen and I sat in a small diner ordering our breakfast. The diner was narrow like a trailer and dust covered the white tiled floors. A light teal was painted on the walls carelessly, with nicks and sickening dirt stains smeared on the walls that resembled boogers. A chrome ceiling hung over us and pictures of people eating at the grubby restaurant years ago dangled beside the maroon fabricated booths.

Owen strangely hovered over a mug of steaming, black coffee. His hood was sliding off the top of his head which slightly covered his untamed, greasy hair. Drooping, purple sacs lingered under his weary eyes. His lips were pale and skin rough with pink speckles distributed all over his face.

"Owen, you don't look too good," I noticed before sipping my orange juice.

He just faintly grunted before inhaling a gulp of coffee.

"You haven't talked much in the last few days… actually, you haven't talked at all," I mentioned in a sigh, rolling my eyes to look out the window.

Once again, he just moaned and slid further down in his seat.

The waitress brought us our small meals and we ate in silence, but I couldn't help but over hear a conversation going on between three Pokemon trainers. They sat in the booth behind Owen, so I was able to get a glance at each of them. One of them was rather heavy and feasting on a plethora of breakfast victuals. He wore a loose fitted, denim, button up shirt and circular, thick framed glasses. The boy's round head and puffy cheeks gobbled a bite of scrambled eggs down rapidly. The boy across from him was lean with an elongated face and pointed cheek bones. His hair was gelled up to expose his rather large forehead and his wide smile kept a constant smirk while sucking on a toothpick. The teenager wore a navy and white, varsity jacket with a wife beater underneath. He wrapped his arm around a girl who twirled her hair while starring at her beloved boyfriend persistently. She was petite with narrow eyes and naturally black, straight hair which was styled and cut nicely around her round face. She wore a neon pink tank top with fashionable, black stripped trousers pinned to her high waist shorts.

"Any news on that gym?" the boy who wore the varsity jacket asked.

The kid wearing glasses huffed down a chomp of pancake before replying quickly, "Well, I have heard a few things,"

"Tell us!" the girl squealed before her lover pecked her on the forehead.

"A gentleman told me the gym leader abandoned his gym after the quantity of tourists sky rocketed. On the other hand, a kind woman informed me that Blaine keeps the location of the gym hidden and seeks out deserving trainers in disguise," the hefty teen babbled.

The other boy slammed his fists to the table, spitting out his tooth pick in disappointment and aggravation, "You mean I have to wait around until some old fart comes and asks me if I'm interested in earning some freakin' badge?!"

The girl shrieked at the sight of her lover's tooth pick hitting the disgusting table, "Oh no, here, take a new one!" She quickly slipped a fresh one into his mouth from a box she oh-so conveniently kept in her pocket.

The waitress must've over heard the group's conversation, because next she added, while setting down a bottle of dark syrup, "You know, kids, I hear his disguise is pretty pathetic. He just wears a brown wig and sun glasses,"

"Yeah," the cocky boy spat rudely, "That doesn't even help considering we don't know what the old hag looks like,"

"You don't, but I do," I whispered to myself while faintly smiling victoriously. I lifted my head and cleared my throat, "Owen, I think I know how we'll find my grandpa. I know what he looks like, so we just got to look for him wearing a lousy wig and sunglasses,"

Owen didn't respond, he had his head bowed against his chest and seemed to be slumbering.

I woke him up, paid the bill, and we exited the restaurant. Next, a trainer challenged me to a Pokemon battle on the beach. So after winning, we headed to the Pokemon Center to let Cubone and Totodile rest. Inside, Nurse Joy sat behind the front counter, typing busily on the keyboard. Two Chansey pushed a stretcher with an Ekans on it into the Emergency Room and a few other children waited in the lounge corner.

We walked up to the front desk, Nurse Joy looked up and smile sweetly before asking, "How can I help you?"

"Two of my Pokemon need to be taken care of," I informed her, sliding two Pokeballs on the counter.

"We'll help them out as soon as we can," the nurse assured me, showing her pearl white teeth. The two Chansey came back out and took my Pokemon to the back room. "You wouldn't happen to be Kylie Scorch, would you?" Nurse Joy turned and asked me.

"That's me," I nodded.

"This message was left here for you," the woman handed me an envelope.

Nothing was written on the front, so I flipped it over, tore the seal, and removed the letter from the envelope. It said: "If you wish to find the gym, just look for a familiar face. If you can't find that, you might see a hand,"

"What is this?" I asked, scanning it over one more time.

Owen shrugged.

"Ok, if you seriously don't start talking I am going to smack you," I admonished, narrowing my eyes intolerantly at the boy.

Finally, Owen responded, "It sounds like a riddle,"

"I don't get it then. A familiar face, a hand, what does it all mean?" I asked, shaking the paper in frustration.

"Riddles aren't supposed to make sense," Owen pointed out.

After Totodile and Cubone were done resting, Owen and I left the Pokemon Center, still baffled by the letter Nurse Joy had given to us. I read it over probably thirty times but still no light bulb flickered above my head. The sun began to set and the night's dark clouds started to shift in the sky. Once again, all the hotels were booked and there was no where to stay. I really wasn't looking forward to sleeping on the beach. I always have salt in my hair and sand all over me when I wake up.

As we walked through town, scanning the booths out of boredom, I took the riddle out of my backpack to try and figure it out once more. I scratched my head vigorously out of frustration.

"Calm down," Owen chuckled.

"There's a gym somewhere on this island and if I don't find it I'm going to explode!" I shouted irritably.

"There are plenty of other gyms out there, why don't we just head back to Pallet Town and ask Professor Oak?" Owen suggested.

"Yeah, but there are no other gyms out there that belong to my very own grandfather," I countered. "When I first became a trainer he promised me that he would battle me when I was strong enough. I have six badges and six awesome Pokemon, yet no battle with my own grandpa,"

"Maybe he doesn't think you're strong enough," Owen shrugged.

"I'm so strong I could beat you up with one hand tied behind my back," I boasted, placing my hands on my hips haughtily.

Owen started to crack up, he held his ribs and pointed at me, "Yeah, sure! Beat me up? That's a good one!"

I glared at him angrily, "Anyway, we just have to solve this riddle. I have a feeling whoever sent this wants to help us,"

"Obviously," the boy rolled his eyes, before rubbing his cheeks since they ached from laughing.

"Hey, look at that!" I pointed up towards one of the large hills that stood on the island. A glowing, white circle loomed through the thick brush of trees. On it you could barely make out the thin, black hands which pointed at some numbers. "I think I solved it!" I exclaimed happily. "See that clock? Well, another name for the back of a clock is a face, right? And on it are the hands, so the familiar face is clock,"

"Now what do we do?" Owen asked.

I tapped my chin then squinted my eyes to distinguish what the clock was placed on, "Well, it looks like it's a clock tower or something. Let's go to it, maybe someone there can tell us where the gym is,"

We hiked up the hill and through the tropical forest. It took us a while, but we finally reached the top where the clock over looked Cinnabar Island. We reached the front door of the small building and looked aside to see a wooden sign hanging beside a window. It read "Big Riddle Inn".

We entered the small hotel. It opened up into a greeting room. The walls were beige and the front counter was dark burgundy. Touristy nick-knacks covered the walls and shelves and a red love seat sat in the corner of the room.

We walked up to the front desk where there was a silver bell. After standing there for a moment, I rang the bell, getting impatient. The door behind the counter opened and out tread an older man, wearing a black smoking cap with his wavy, sandy brown hair trailing out from underneath. He also wore Ozzy Osborn like sunglasses which had burnt orange lenses, and a shaggy mustache covered his top lip. He also fashioned a chocolate brown, dress shirt and khakis.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, his voice rough like sandpaper.

I looked at Owen, unsure of what to say, "I guess we'd like a room,"

"I presume you are Kylie Scorch?" he asked again.

I pulled back in shock, "How do you know my name?"

"I've expected you're arrival, you must've figured out my riddle," the man assumed.

"You're the one that sent that to us?" I questioned, raising a brow. Something about this man seemed familiar.

"Indeed, I am," he smiled.

"Do you know anything about the location of the gym?" Owen asked.

"I'll answer your question with a question. What do you call something that wasn't forgotten about, it just appears that way?" he recited, pointing his finger upward knowingly.

"What? That doesn't make any sense," I contradicted.

I peered over to see Owen looking at the floor deep in thought, he then pondered, "Some people just leave things, but it really looks like it was forgotten about. Is the answer… abandoned?" Owen guessed.

"That is correct!" the hotel keeper exclaimed gleefully. Owen crossed his arms and tilt towards me, grinning victoriously.

"Blaine abandoned his gym because he was sick of all the tourists flooding through town," the man informed us.

"So, the rumors are true," I bowed my head in disappointment.

"They would challenge him but they didn't even care about Pokemon, they just visited the island for postcards and souvenirs," he shook his head in shame. "But don't be down, I know something that might cheer you up!"

"You do?!" we jumped forward in excitement.

"Yep, it's another riddle!" he declared. "Blaine made a new gym where no one would think to look. He made it where, if there were a smoke detector in it, it would constantly be going off,"

"Do any of your riddles make sense?" I sighed in annoyance.

"Why don't you think about it in the morning?" the man suggested.

He showed us to our rooms and as I lied in bed the only thing I could think about was the riddle he had recited to us. I couldn't think of anything. My body ached and craved for rest, so I tried to forget about it until the morning and figure it out then.

The morning came and Owen and I ate breakfast at the Big Riddle Inn. We discussed the old man's riddle some more but neither of us could think of anything. The best thing we could think of was kitchen fire or something, but that wouldn't make the smoke detector alarm constantly because eventually it would either burn down the entire house or get put out.

After numerous days of aching, nonstop walking we decided to pay a visit to the famous hot springs which attracted all the tourists to Cinnabar Island. The hot spring was rather large and nuzzled up against the towering volcano. A bamboo wall sectioned the hot spring into two areas for the males and females. A small creek trickled into the hot spring creating a tranquil, tiny waterfall sound. I let Charmander out of his Pokeball, thinking he would enjoy the warm water. The fire type floated in the hot spring, closing his eyes in relaxation.

"Where's a place that a smoke detector would constantly go off, Charmander?" I asked timidly, leaning against a rock. I looked up at the vast volcano. Auburn dust covered the peak and a rocky hole opened up at the top. Then it hit me. I dashed through the water towards the wall where on the other side Owen was sitting. I pounded my fists against the bamboo barricade to get his attention.

"OWEN! OWEN!" I shouted.

"What?" he snapped angrily, mad that I had disrupted his peaceful silence.

I shook in thrill, "I finally figured out the riddle! My grandpa made a new gym inside the volcano! It makes so much sense, I don't know why I didn't get this right away!"

Owen muttered, "Because you're stupid,"

I pounded numerous times more on the fence while shouting, "You wipe that smirk off your face!"

All of the sudden, the barrier began to collapse. It wobbled back and forth from me banging it and then started to tilt towards me. I quickly hopped out of the spring so the board wouldn't crush me. The wall had hit one of the rocks that piled up to create the small waterfall. The rock descended into the stack like a switch and a section of the volcano's wall, which the hot spring was next to, slid open.

"Way to go, Kylie," Owen spat.

"Hey, at least I found the entrance," I shrugged in satisfaction.

We quickly dried off and put our clothes back on over our bathing suits. We entered the secret passageway where a case of steel stairs led down the tunnel. After walking down the stairs we reached two large, metal doors. Owen placed his hand on one of the door's handles but immediately withdrew, shaking his hand in agony.

"Holy shit, that's hot!" he yelled in pain before blowing lightly on his burnt hand.

"Kylie Scorch can handle any amount of heat!" I exclaimed determinedly, swinging my leg upward and kicking the doors open.

Next, we were blinded by a current of steam which scalded our faces. When the hot smoke cleared we found ourselves in the center of the volcano. A large, Pokemon battling field made of cement was suspended from chains which latched to the volcano's interior walls. Below the battle platform was a deep pool of bubbling lava. Mixtures of red, yellow, and orange swirled together and released sweltering steam.

All of the sudden, the doors across from us opened up. Out of the thick smoke stepped the riddle man. Today he was wearing a red polo and khaki shorts.

"Surprised to see me?" he snickered.

"Riddle man, what are you doing here?!" I interrogated.

Owen sighed, "Don't you get it? He's the gym leader,"

"Then that must mean…" I stuttered in realization.

"That's right, Kylie," the man removed the light brown hair from his head, mustache, and sunglasses. "It's me, your Grandpa Blaine,"

"Gampy, I knew it was you all along!"

Owen chuckled doubtfully, "Sure you did,"

"Well, Kylie, are you ready for that gym battle I promised you years ago?" he asked, reaching for a Pokeball from his belt.

"You bet I am, I've been waiting for this moment forever," I told him in enthusiasm.

"Alright, let's not waste anymore time. This will be a two on two battle. So, without further ado, my first Pokemon is Ninetails!" my grandpa announced, tossing a Pokeball onto the concrete field.

The Pokeball exploded with ashen light and through the bright flash a mocha, brown fox appeared. It had nine, long, elegant tails and it stood on four paws gracefully. I summoned my first Pokemon, which was Totodile. He popped out of the Pokeball spastically and jogged in place while glaring at Ninetails, preparing himself for the first command.

_Ninetails's tails are said to be imbued with a mystic power. This fire type Pokemon can live for over a thousand years, _Dexter said.

"I see you decided not to carry out the family tradition of fire type Pokemon trainers," he noticed, frowning slightly.

"Don't worry, gramps, I actually have four fire types," I informed him proudly.

"Glad to hear it," he nodded with a smile. "Enough talking, Ninetails, use fire spin,"

The suave fox Pokemon leapt forward and fired a surprisingly speedy attack which consisted of large embers twisting around Totodile and swallowing him like a tornado. Totodile cringed slightly but remained ok from the ineffective fire move.

"Excellent, young grasshopper," my grandpa nodded, impressed. "Your Totodile is very strong. Most Pokemon usually faint after one of my Ninetails's powerful fire spins. Let's see how well your Totodile can handle Ninetail's flamethrower!" Ninetails shot an awesome stream of flames from its mouth directly at Totodile.

"Quick Totodile, water gun!" I commanded. Totodile inhaled slightly before firing a water gun at the fire type Pokemon's flamethrower. The two attacks collided and steam shimmered from the impact, however, Ninetails's flamethrower was far more stronger and overpowered Totodile's weak blast of water. Flames surrounded Totodile and he yelped in pain. When the fire dimmed I immediately returned the blistered Pokemon to his Pokeball.

"For my next Pokemon, I'll use…" I started, but then pondered who could stand up to Ninetails's immense flamethrower.

"Use Cubone, fire types don't work that well against ground types," Owen advised.

I quickly opposed, "Yeah, but I don't know if Cubone is strong enough,"

"Then who else are you going to use?"

"I choose you, Charmander!" I turned around and pointed at the small lizard. He had still been out since he was swimming in the hot spring with me before. Charmander stood on the sidelines beside Owen and waved his hands in resistance.

"Charmander, I know you can do this," I encouraged. I walked over and picked up the doubtful Pokemon. "Now get out there and earn mama that badge!" I shouted optimistically, while swinging my arm to toss the Pokemon out onto the field. Charmander clutched to my wrist, keeping himself from being flung out there. "C'mon buddy, we've defeated all the other gym leaders together, now this is no different." Charmander gulped then waddled out to the center of the arena.

My grandpa added in, "I will also be switching Pokemon,"

"Alright,"

"My next Pokemon comes from the depths, but not the depths of the ocean," my grandpa proclaimed.

"No more riddles! They're too confusing!" I shook my head to rid the puzzlement.

"Only because you're too dim witted to figure them out," Owen muttered with an evil grin.

"I discovered this Pokemon in the base of the volcano years ago. Prepare yourself, because things are only going to get hotter!" Grandpa Blaine announced. "The Pokemon I choose is, Magmar!" he declared.

The lava began to bubble more rapidly. Then, a river of magma flooded onto the arena and out stepped a tall, muscular beast. It had fire red skin with yellow flames stamped all over its body. Two, obscure orbs sat above his narrow eyes and his large feet and paws had thick, silver claws.

"Does that thing have boobs on its head?" Owen derided, the pit of his stomach erupting with laughter.

"Magmar is nothing to joke about," Blaine snarled.

_Magmar is the spitfire Pokemon. Its body is like a furnace making Magmar a living inferno. It only appears near active volcanoes, _Dexter informed.

"Even though we're family, I'm not letting Magmar go easy on you," Grandpa Blaine warned. "It's your last chance to turn back before my Magmar turns your Charmander into fried chicken,"

"Charmander and I never give up," I told my grandfather. "We're a team,"

"Fine then, Magmar, start things off with smokescreen," grandpa instructed.

Magmar swung his arms swiftly upward and a sheet of fog lifted from the lava and cloaked the field. I could no longer see Charmander or to the other side where my grandfather was standing. Alls I could see was black smog clouding the platform.

"Magmar, use fire punch!" Grandpa Blaine shouted.

"Look out, Charmander!" I warned him while crossing my fingers, hoping that Charmander evaded the attack.

I heard a smack followed by a faint whimper. The smokescreen cleared and I could see Charmander lying on the ground, shaking feebly. There were a few scratches along his cheek where Magmar must've punched him. Charmander eventually got up and stood unsteadily on his hind legs.

"Now it's our turn, attack with flamethrower!" I commanded.

"You too, Magmar!" gramps shouted.

The two Pokemon shot their blasts of fire with all their might. Magmar's flamethrower was thicker and faster, it quickly barged right through Charmander's incomparable attack and burned his side.

"Give up yet?" my grandfather sneered.

"Heck no. Charmander, get in there and use slash!" I demanded vivaciously.

"Fight back with another fire punch, Magmar!" gramps yelled subsequently.

Charmander darted towards the Magmar. Magmar pulled his arm back and cocked his fist while flames consumed his right arm. Charmander arrived before him right as Magmar swung his fist. The two hit each other's knuckles with their attacks. Magmar stumbled slightly from his fiery hand getting cut by Charmander's slash. Next, Charmander slid across the platform, practically gliding off the edge.

"This has gone on long enough, finish it off with fire blast!" Grandpa Blaine exclaimed impatiently.

"Kylie, you have to get Charmander out of there," recommended Owen in concern.

"Charmander, run for your life!" I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth.

Grandpa Blaine shook his head, "You can't escape Magmar's fire blast,"

Magmar inhaled heavily before thrusting forward and unleashing a potent zigzag of fire. The odd shaped blaze chased Charmander around the arena before tackling him front on. Charmander toppled to the floor and remained motionless. Burns and blisters covered his belly and forehead from the attack hitting him front on.

"Charmander!" I exclaimed, jumping onto the platform and rushed over to his side. "I give up. You win, grandpa,"

The man walked over and knelt down beside me, "He's obviously deeply wounded. A soak in the hot springs and a couple days of rest will get him back to normal,"

"Thank you," I peered up and smiled at the elder, cradling Charmander in my arms.

He turned to leave and just before he opened the door to exit, he looked over his shoulder and commented, "That was quite the battle, Kylie. Maybe after a few days of rest and training we'll give it another go,"

I then muttered to myself determinedly, "And next time, I won't lose."


	63. Victory At Last

Chapter 63

Chapter 63

One morning I happened to stumble across a booth stock full of maps, scrolls, and other historic documents. There was a small, antique shelf with numerous slots in it. In each slot sat at least three scrolls coiled together. I opened one to see a map of Cinnabar Island. It was a little dated, with burnt edges and crinkles but it pointed to numerous locations on the island.

"Don't tell me you're buying even more crap," Owen hung over my shoulder, peering down at the map I was gawking at.

"But look at all the stuff we can do on Cinnabar. Who knew all this time we were here trying to find things to do, there were all these amazing places to visit," I babbled excitedly. I pointed to a tiny, red X on the drawing, "Like right here is a river where some of the world's biggest Magikarp live. We could go there and ride them!" I suggested. "Or here is a plateau where massive herds of horse Pokemon live, we can take Rapidash there and ride around!"

"What about training?" Owen reminded me.

I smirked faintly, "How come you suddenly care about me training and winning this badge? Usually, you'd just go on and on about how I should give up because I'll lose,"

Owen's face burned a light red, "I just want to get off this island that's all,"

I raised a brow, grinning at the suspicious boy, "Uh huh, sure,"

Later that afternoon, I trained a while with my Pokemon, especially Totodile. Owen was rummaging through our things a bit in a panic. Whipping things out of his knapsack in every direction, not caring where it landed.

I walked over, "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," he snapped in a grumble. After emptying his bag, he sighed and turned around, "As embarrassing as this is to ask, have you seen my journal?"

I gulped, my eyes widened with realization. I had forgotten to give it back. I raced over to my bag and hugged it snug against my chest.

"Well, it's definitely not in _my_ bag!" I shook in fear.

"I wouldn't expect it to be," he replied, eye brow raised at my sudden, jumpy behavior.

The boy turned around, beginning to place everything back in his bag. I contemplated with myself, glimpsing into my messenger bag and seeing the spiral notebook sticking out. I didn't know whether to return it honorably or sneak it back in at night. Owen was worried and seemed to be attached to the thing, so I gulped once more before removing it from the rucksack.

"Owen, actually," I started, sweat rolling down my temple. He turned around. "I have your dia- I mean journal,"

"Why?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me in suspicion. Before I could explain, he quickly interrupted, "You didn't read it did you!?"

"No, no, I promise," I held it forward, shaking nervously.

"Yeah right, like I'm supposed to believe someone who is sweating and shaking uncontrollably," Owen rolled his eyes, yanking the book from my grip.

"Owen, I promise you, I did not read it!" I shouted, becoming aggravated that he wouldn't believe me.

"Have you ever read it?" he asked.

I exasperated, "Why does it matter? You have it back now, you should be happy!"

"That isn't the point, Kylie. The point is you went through my personal privacy and my personal thoughts," Owen responded angrily. "Tell me, have you ever read this?"

"Only once, and I regret it with all my life," I told him truthfully.

"I can't believe you!" he tossed his arms up in the air.

I was so infuriated, even though Owen had the right to be mad. My fists quaked and my feet were planted firmly in the ground. I then shouted, without thinking through before saying it, "Well maybe if you weren't so secretive and just expressed your thoughts instead of writing them down, no one would have to go through your dumb book just to know how you feel!"

"You want me to express myself? Leave me the hell alone!" he shouted, then stomped away.

I hung my head in shame, "I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Sorry that you read my journal?" Owen snapped.

"Ok, I read it once. That was way back when we were near Celadon City. This time I swear I didn't. It fell out of your backpack before the Race to Cinnabar Island, so I couldn't just give it back to you then. So I waited, and I forgot. I'm really, really sorry, Owen. But you just have to believe me, I would not lie to you," I guaranteed him.

He was silent, starring at the ground and gritting his teeth angrily. He looked up and we caught eye contact. A mysterious sparkle flashed in his cerulean eyes and I knew he had forgiven me.

He sighed deeply, "Fine, I believe you," he smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled back.

Later that evening, Owen, Charmander, Totodile, and I stood in a clearing in the forest close to town. Charmander and Totodile stood across from one another, Charmander standing before Owen and Totodile standing in front of me. A whistling, gentle wind passed by, rustling the leaves of the trees and causing the weedy grass to tickle our ankles. Charmander and Totodile leered confidently at one another, cracking their knuckles and bowing forward, ready to charge.

"CHARGE!" Owen and I shouted in unison.

Totodile and Charmander launched forward, shoving off the ground and kicking up dust. The two Pokemon tackled each other head on, bashing their skulls against one another. Each of them flew backwards from the clash and rubbed their heads in agony.

"Charmander, get up and use ember!" Owen hollered.

Charmander sprung himself up from the ground using the base of his tail. After standing steadily, Charmander spat bullets composed of fiery sparks directly at Totodile, who was still slouched on the ground, stroking his aching cranium. The embers pelted Totodile but only caused him to become more aware and awake.

"Totodile, bounce back with water gun!" I commanded.

Totodile darted towards Charmander and while racing toward him, Totodile gulped in air before spurting a strong blast of water at the fire type. The flurry of water propelled Charmander backward and sent him crashing into the trunk of a tree. The Pokemon stepped forward, a mixture of sweat and water dripping down his forehead.

Suddenly, an idea sprouted in my head, so I excitedly exclaimed, "Quick, aim a water gun at the trunk of the tree!"

Totodile leapt into the air and soared toward Charmander who stood there clueless. Owen also stood back unaware of what I was planning. While suspended in the air, Totodile fired his water gun at the base of the tree. The blast of water bounced off the bark and struck the lizard-like Pokemon right in the back. Charmander fell forward, planting his face into the dirt.

"Great job, Totodile, perfect aim!" I complimented my Pokemon's successful hard work. I walked over and knelt beside my starter Pokemon, "Are you alright, Charmander?"

He nodded reassuringly, pushing himself off the ground.

"I know you're upset that you can't battle next time we face grandpa, but at least you can help out with training," I beamed.

"I think the little guy has helped out with enough training for today, he really should be taking it easy," Owen crossed his arms and nagged.

"I know, mom, I know," I rolled my eyes teasingly.

After that, we took a visit to the springs and let Charmander soak in them to heal his injuries he received from battling my grandfather. Nightfall came and we set up camp in the forest. The fire started dimming down and Owen and I slipped into our sleeping bags. Totodile and Charmander slumbered against my hips peacefully, when suddenly Totodile awoke in the middle of the night.

The water type batted his eye lids repeatedly before getting up and walking away zombie-like. He disappeared through a bush and at first I thought he left to go to the bathroom or something, but Totodile didn't come back. I smoothly slithered out of my sleeping bag, trying my best not to wake Charmander. I followed the path Totodile took and continued scanning the forest for him. I walked for another five minutes or so until I finally reached a river which was deeper into the forest. I stopped to see Totodile running towards a tree, head tilting forward. He tackled the oak then stepped backwards to slash the tree numerous times. The Pokemon twirled about and shot several, powerful water guns, knocking over piles of rocks next to the river. When Totodile turned back around, he spotted me standing there.

Tears drew to my eyes and no words could come to my lips, I was just so proud that Totodile would take time away from sleeping to train for our gym battle. The water type Pokemon waddled over, his head hanging in shame.

"Don't be ashamed," I told him, picking him up off the ground and cuddling him against my chest. "I am so proud to have a motivated Pokemon like you by my side,"

Suddenly, Totodile began to glow. I quickly placed him on the ground and the crocodile started to shape shift. His cranium became more rounded and so did his gut. His tail and height extended while the ashen glow died. There a gruff, secure, stable, turquoise crocodile stood. A blue, speckled egg shell covered his head and a chunk of egg shell also surrounded his abdomen.

"No way, Totodile, your hard work paid off! All our training paid off! You just evolved!" I gasped in delight, pulling my Pokedex out from my short's pocket.

_Croconaw is the evolved form of Totodile and has been spotted in swamps and marshes. Croconaw opens its wide jaw when attacking, if it loses a fang, it immediately grows back in._

"Let's see what else your efforts have done for you," I challenged playfully. I bent my knees somewhat and swiftly pointed forward at another mound of rocks. "Water gun!"

Croconaw cocked his head backwards, filling his entire stomach up with air, then thrust forward to unleash a powerful blast of water which sent the small boulders flying across the river. I nodded, impressed and in approval, before walking back to camp and returning to sleep.

The next morning felt amazing. The air was crisp and the sky was clear with nothing but blue greeting us that fine morning. The sunrise stretched over the hills and tickled our stiff faces. I prepared some Pokemon food for the gang and let each of them out for their breakfast. After Charmander gobbled down his kibbles, I wrapped a bandage around his ribs, where he got burned the worst.

"The pressure this bandage will give you will help the blisters ooze and heal faster," I told him, securing the white cloth with a pin. Each one of my Pokemon, which were eating away, looked up from their bowls and looked at me in disgust. I laughed, "Sorry everyone, didn't mean to ruin your breakfast,"

Surprisingly, Owen was still sleeping across camp. He was curled up in a ball with his sleeping bag covering his head. His chaotic, disheveled hair trailing out of the synthetic material, drool dripping from his chin, loud, obnoxious, frequent snorts erupting from his mouth, oh yeah, he looked quite attractive. I arrived at his side, whistling innocently, then kicked him in the ribs. The boy shot up from the ground, yelping in pain.

Owen glared at me angrily, muffling to himself, "Can't get no sleep. No respect. Goin' around and just kicking me. Sure, let's kick him while he's sleeping. Tired. Grumpy. Then some kicking,"

"Get a good night's sleep, sunshine?" I mocked, crossing my arms while smirking evilly.

Later that afternoon, with Croconaw walking along side me, we hiked up to the volcano to challenge my grandpa once again. Owen pestered me about what second Pokemon I would use beside Croconaw, but I wasn't even sure of that myself. I was hoping to convince my grandfather to make it a one on one match. This time, I had a feeling that Croconaw could stand up to Magmar all on his own.

We walked down the stairwell, opened up the scorching hot doors, and entered the steaming gym. There was the platform, and across the gym stood my Grandpa Blaine.

"So, finally back for your rematch, eh?" he asked, crossing his arms.

I nodded my head before gulping, "Indeed, I am,"

"Well then, you must be pretty confident in your training to come back this soon,"

"Did you think I was going to take a week off just to train?" I asked.

He ignored my question, "I see your Totodile evolved, you think that's just what you need in order to win?"

"Grandpa, quit acting all gym leader-ish and tough, it's scaring me!" I chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Kylie. Let's get on with the match!" Grandpa Blaine raised his arms, summoning his Magmar to the field.

Magmar soared through the air before landing rapidly onto the platform. He glared at me, leaning forward ready for action.

"Grandpa, if you don't mind, I think I can take you down with just one Pokemon," I challenged good-naturedly.

"Alright then, I'll let you use one since you _are_ my granddaughter," Grandpa Blaine agreed.

"For my Pokemon, I choose Croconaw," I told him, Croconaw stepped onto the battling field, head high snootily.

"Very well, let the battle begin!" my grandfather declared. "Magmar, use fire punch!"

"Croconaw, jump behind Magmar!" I shouted.

Magmar coated his arm in flames and continually attempted to strike Croconaw with his fiery fist, but Croconaw dodged about three punches and then leapt into the air and landed behind Magmar.

"Now use water gun!" I continued.

Croconaw fired an immense blast of water towards the back of Magmar, but Grandpa Blaine quickly reacted, "Magmar, block it with fire punch!"

Magmar spun around and juiced up his scorching arm in order to thwart the water gun and shove it away. Steam shifted from the collision and the two Pokemon stood face to face, leering at one another and waiting for a command. A silence came among us, my grandfather and me eyeing each other and waiting for the other one to shout an instruction. All at once, my grandpa hollered "Flamethrower" while I yelled "Water gun".

Croconaw shot his water gun and Magmar fired his flamethrower. Once again, the two attacks hit each other and a massive explosion was the outcome. White, sweltering steam filled the air and tackled those of us on the sidelines. Once it cleared, the two fighting Pokemon remained mostly unharmed, although breathing heavily.

I noticed Owen was analyzing Magmar's movements a lot, and then he snapped out of his trance and told me, "Hey Kylie, Magmar is extremely flatfooted, use Croconaw's agility in order to tire him out, you know?"

"Good idea," I nodded in agreement. I turned back, "Croconaw, keep dodging Magmar's attacks!"

"If there's one thing I thought my own flesh and blood wouldn't do, is run," Blaine shook his head in disappointment.

_I'm not running for just any reason, gramps, _I snickered to myself.

"Magmar, don't stop attacking! That little iguana can't run forever," Grandpa Blaine ordered.

Magmar charged at Croconaw but he easily slid out of the way. The fire type beast continued to persistently throw fiery punches, blasts of fire, and kicks of the feet, but every time Croconaw would manage to zip out of the way. Grandpa Blaine was getting frustrated and Magmar was growing tired.

"Looks like my running tactic is working after all," I sneered.

"Magmar, use fire blast!" Grandpa Blaine shouted angrily.

I gasped, scared of what happened to Charmander might happen to Croconaw, "Wait, call off the attack! I give up!"

It was too late. Magmar had unleashed the X shaped blaze and it was barging its way through the air towards Croconaw, who stood there memorized by the attack's immeasurable strength. I began to run onto the field, in order to shield Croconaw from the terminal fire blast, but Croconaw was surprisingly able to roll out of the way. The flames missed and Croconaw remained uninjured.

I promptly ordered, "Water gun at its feet!"

Croconaw comprehended my instruction immediately. He shot a water gun at Magmar's feet, creating a puddle surrounding the volcanic creature. Once Magmar stepped forward, Magmar slipped and fell right to the ground with a loud thud, shaking the platform and rattling the chains.

"Once again, water gun!" I shouted victoriously.

Croconaw inhaled and one last time, hit Magmar with a powerful stream of water. The water impacted him greatly and sent him sliding across the field. Croconaw stood there triumphantly, chin pointed upward and paws on his hips, as we absorbed the magnificent feeling of finally defeating the seventh gym leader.

The four of us, Grandpa Blaine, Owen, Croconaw, and I, met again outside the volcano. My superior stood before me, tears appearing in the corner of his wrinkly eyes. He held in front of me a tiny, red flame with a pin on the back. My grandfather smiled ear to ear as he presented it to me.

"I am so proud to be giving to this to you, Kylie," he sniffled. "But before you accept it, I have one last riddle to tell you,"

I groaned impatiently, before jumping up and down in excitement.

"What has the power of a volcano, but is not?"

"Ok, this is your most confusing one yet," I exhaled.

Grandpa chuckled, "The answer is Magmar, and if you ever need his help, you know I can send him to you like that," he insisted, snapping his fingers while he said "like that". "Now, you may think you are almost there, but really your journey has just begun. From now on there will be nothing but constant training and traveling. You must visit new places in order obtain the skill you desire to win the Indigo League," he turned and faced Owen, slightly bowing respectfully, "Owen, you will play a vital role in Kylie's success, keep giving her the advice and the push she needs to reach great heights,"

"Gramps, you sound so cheesy right now," I kidded.

"With old age comes wisdom, I thought you would appreciate these words of advice?" he shrugged.

"You're right, now you've inspired me to do even better," I nodded.

He beamed brightly, "Great,"

My grandfather handed me my Volcano badge and I pinned it along side my six others, each one shinning and looking perfectly next to one another. As my collection grew the better they looked as a group. I hugged and kissed Grandpa Blaine good-bye and finally, Owen and I headed to the opposite side of the island, where we would board a ferry and leave Cinnabar at last. Just beyond the ocean was home, and just beyond that, were the next steps in my journey to become the world's best fire Pokemon trainer ever.


	64. Kylie And Owen's Day Off

**A/N: Well, finally after getting through the annoying gym battles that I always hate to write about, I decided that I wanted to stick in an unnecessary, but adorable filler. It was time for Kylie and Owen to have some fun and of course some hints along the way ;)**

**I'll try my best to make it short, since I know PSJ has gone on long enough and while some of you may enjoy it… I have no idea, others are probably getting impatient. Don't worry, I'm even getting impatient with myself. While I love PSJ I want to finish it up so I can move on to some more thrilling stories with actual plots.**

**I really, really appreciate everyone who has been sticking with this long process and thank you so much for the reviews! My goal was to get 50 reviews by PSJ's end and you made that happen before the story was even over! So thanks a bunch! Enjoy!**

Chapter 64

The next morning I woke up while the sun was rising. The air was warm, the sky was clear, and the sun couldn't shine any brighter. We had made it to the opposite side of Cinnabar. Owen slept a couple feet away from me, curled up in his sleeping bag, so I walked over and shook him awake.

His eye lips opened spastically, crust wedged in his corneas. Drool was running down his chin and his upper lip quivered while he wiggled his fingers. He looked as if he was about to say something, as if were still dreaming from his sleep.

"Misty?" he murmured, smiling dopily.

I laughed, "Still dreaming of getting a little gym leader action?"

"Wha-wha- what happened?" Owen leaned forward, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Owen climbed out of his sleeping bag and slipped his feet into his sneakers. His forest green, KPFT sweatshirt was filthy and had stains all over it. His jeans were tattered, ripping at the bottom with threads tangling with each other and trailing on the ground. His sneakers were muddy, the once white shoelaces completely brown. Owen's hair was getting long, now tickling his shoulders and curling around his ears with blond locks dangling in front of his eyes. He looked like a mess.

"Let's go to town and pick out some food for the rest of the trip home," I suggested.

We walked to town and shopped through the farmer's market. After buying all the food we needed, we still managed to have some money leftover, and after seeing how Owen looked before I thought I'd give him the money to spend on himself.

"Here you go," I handed him the bills kindly.

"What are you giving me this for?" he asked, blinking clueless at the gesture.

"I'm not going to lie to you, buddy, you look disgusting," I tried to cover my chuckling.

Owen peered down at his clothing then tugged on his untidy hair, "I guess you're right. It's just that dudes don't really care what they look like,"

"Well, you should," I nagged. "You have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Exactly, I don't have to impress anyone now," he shrugged.

"I want you to spend the extra money on yourself, just treat yourself to a relaxing day for a change. We've done a lot these last few weeks. Why don't you pay a visit to that spa?" I recommended.

Owen burst into laughter, "Did you seriously think that when you said that, I'd say yes?"

Moments later, I dragged Owen into the day spa and forced him to sign up for an immediate make over. Luckily, they were having a two for one sale that day, so I was able to get the royal treatment as well. First, they cut Owen's hair and styled it nicely. Next, they duct taped him to a chair so they could give him a manicure and pedicure. Owen cringed and squirmed in his chair as the nail experts clipped away at his finger and toe nails. After that, we sat in the steam room for a while before getting too hot and leaving our relaxing trip at the spa, or so I thought so.

Owen continued to waddle around town as if something were between his legs, no not that. I could tell he felt extremely unmanly after getting his nails back to normal hygienic status, but he tried his best to cover up his hands, it was quite funny to watch.

"Hey Owen, we still have a little money leftover, believe it or not, let's go shopping!" I clapped my hands together in delight.

"I got to say, this is the most I've ever seen you act like… well, a girl," Owen said.

"I just love to see you getting all cleaned up," I admitted, smiling jubilantly.

Owen raised a brow, grinning, "Oh, because I look so strikingly attractive?"

My cheeks turned rosy, "That's not what I meant!" I protested in humiliation.

Owen stuck his head forward, still grinning mockingly, "Deny all you want, but you can't hide the fact that you think I'm a sexy beast,"

"Go to hell!" I shouted.

For the rest of the day I lugged Owen around town and made him to try on clothes. Each time I'd force him to come out and model them for me. He'd look in the three-way mirror and of course reject the outfit right away. Most of them were just trendy graphic tees and jeans but he still remained uncooperative.

On our way to the next store, I finally asked him, "Why are you so attached to the clothes you have now, don't you think they're gross?"

"I'm not attached to them, you just don't know what my style is," he excused.

"Then what is your style, hmmm?"

"Uhhh,"

"Sweat shirts and jeans?" I joked.

He tapped his chin before replying, "Yeah, that's pretty much it,"

"That is going to end today!" I declared.

The next and final shop we went into was just for teenage boys, so it was going to be easier to find something here. I tossed about six pairs of jeans onto Owen's arms and then around twelve shirts. He tried them on and none of them seemed right, until that last one. It was some dark denim jeans with a maroon long sleeved tee. He also wore new, black converses.

"How do you feel?" I asked him.

The boy spun around multiple times before starring at his butt in the mirror, "I feel kind of… tingly,"

"Is that a good thing?"

He hesitated, even unsure of it himself, "I don't know, these shoes just make me feel less-"

"Of a man?" I interrupted, chuckling slightly.

Owen picked out some black sneakers instead, so next we paid for the clothes with our last bit of money. We exited the shop and Owen looked like a new man. He smiled ear to ear and swung his arms up highly as if he were marching.

"See, getting pampered isn't so bad after all, is it?" I questioned the boy.

He glared at me, hating to admit defeat, "I guess it was nice getting new clothes,"

"We still have some time left in the day, and the ferry doesn't get here until tomorrow, so I was thinking we could try out all that fun stuff I saw on that map!"

Owen gave in and the first place we visited was the Koi River where the massive Magikarp lived. I stood on the river bank and waited for one of the large, red fish to pop out of the water. I quickly stripped off my clothes (my bathing suit was underneath) and dove into the water. Owen sat under a shady tree and scribbled in his notebook while I hunted for a fish to ride. Just meters away a scaly, crimson flounder flailed through the air then back into the water. I rapidly swam over and lingered until the fish popped up again. Unexpectedly, it appeared right in front of me. I was astounded by its size. The height of the Magikarp's fin was as big as me.

I held onto the top of the spiky, slimy fin while the Magikarp remained partially under water and swiftly swam through the river. The friendly fish launched into the air and I held on tightly, while giggling uncontrollably. Eventually, the giant flounder gained so much speed I lost my grip and flew through the air. Thankfully, I landed back in the water, but the impact stung my skin as if I just did a belly flop. I climbed back onto land and twisted my ponytail to let the water drip from it faster.

Owen grunted angrily, "Thanks, you just got me and my notebook soaked!"

"Awww, I'm sorry, were you planning on publishing your diary someday and becoming famous?" I teased.

"Do you want me to return these clothes?" Owen threatened.

"No, no, I'm sorry," I couldn't help but laugh.

After that, we rode to the plateau on Rapidash and arrived at the mesa within a couple minutes. The landmass was elevated higher then the earth around it. The flat level of land was covered with different types of horse-like Pokemon. Herds of Rapidash, Ponyta, brown, deer-like Pokemon with antlers, and a half yellow, half black giraffe-like Pokemon grazed the verdant meadow.

I also let Growlithe and Houndoom out of their Pokeballs so the three of them ran around the empty highland for about an hour. Shortly after, I noticed that Growlithe was missing. Knowing the puppy's knack for hunting and exploring, I assumed he had wandered off to sniff something out. I waved Owen over and Houndoom along with Rapidash followed behind. We searched the woodsy area for the lost fire type but he was no where to be found. Moments later, I heard faint barking. I ran towards the frequent woofing and eventually found Growlithe sitting contently with his pink tongue falling out of his mouth. He barked once more, seeming to be gesturing towards something. Right beside him was a small, foul, acrid mole, decaying on the ground.

I pulled back in revulsion, "Oh Growlithe, that is disgusting!" I scolded.

The dog whimpered, ashamed. His ears folded back and tail between his legs.

"Well Owen, it looks like we have time to do one more thing today before we head to the port and wait for the ferry," I informed him giddily. "Where would _you_ like to go?"

The boy crossed his arms and starred at the ground, deeply considering what place we should visit, he then shot up, "I know! This place is right next to the beach where the ferry is arriving tomorrow morning. There's this massive rock which the first settlers landed on and discovered Cinnabar Island, it's supposed to have a great view of the ocean and all that crap,"

"Sounds beautiful,"

So, we marched towards the beach which also happened to have the dock which the ferry was boarding at. The number of trees started to die down and mushy sand shifted under our feet. Salt air wafted up into our nostrils and a brisk, continuous current blew from the ocean. The sun was getting ready to set and Owen spotted the famous rock on the coastal line.

We raced towards it, climbing over smaller boulders to reach this other enormous stone. It was as long as a school bus and as tall as a house. A mixture of violet and cherry swirled above our heads and sparkled in the setting sun's golden rays. The ocean shimmered brightly like fireworks were being set off underneath its depths, from the sun reflecting on the surface. Owen and I stood there silently, absorbing in the stunning scenery.

Owen broke the silence, speaking peacefully and undertone, "I learned in history class that people called the Sye were the first to live on Cinnabar Island. When humans were first introduced to violence they used Pokemon in combat, but the Sye hated it so they set out to find a new place to live in peace. They found Cinnabar and lived here with Pokemon in harmony. Then settlers from the mainland came and ordered the Sye to hand over all their Pokemon, but they refused. Next, they went to war but the Sye were extremely out numbered and they all died off. I heard that there are temples all over Cinnabar that were created by the Sye and hold the secret of Pokemon and the meaning of life,"

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about it," I responded, slightly shocked.

"I'm willing to admit that history has always interested me," Owen confessed with a shrug of the shoulders.

"I don't think that anyone really knows the meaning of life or the true secret of Pokemon," I opposed in disbelief.

"Well, the Sye were known as peace loving folk and one of the first ancient civilizations, that probably existed with Pokemon I'm sure we've never heard of," Owen rebutted knowingly. "These legendary Pokemon must've told them the secret themselves,"

"You really think so?"

Owen shrugged, "Sure,"

Moments passed, and the two of us went back to gazing at the sunset. I placed my hand on Owen's shoulder. He looked at me with a concerned expression, like he thought I was going to say something urgent, but I just smiled at him timidly and said, "I'm really glad you're traveling with me, Owen,"

"Me too," he smiled back.

At that moment the strangest feeling came among me. My heart began to pound rapidly and my lips tingled. I felt like I actually wanted to… kiss Owen, but I looked down to see Lucien's ring around my finger. I removed my hand from his shoulder and shook my head, trying to rid it of those unwanted thoughts. I had a boyfriend and besides, I highly doubted Owen would let me do such a thing. He seemed to be crazy about Amber.

Next, I felt like I wanted to vomit. In fact, I disgusted myself. I could never imagine showing affection towards that boy in that way. Owen had always been my friend to pester, argue with, and ask for trainer-like advice, never to _kiss_. I descended the rock cautiously, trying to get as far away from Owen as possible.

"Where you going?" he asked.

"To set up camp," I answered in a muffle, stumbling over the rocks.

"Okay," Owen said before sitting down on the large boulder. "Oh Kylie, before you go, I have something to tell you,"

"Yeah?" I raised a brow, my heart skipping a few beats.

He gulped and looked down, avoiding eye contact with me. He finally looked up and sighed heavily before saying, "You're a dumb ass," he smiled proudly.

I narrowed my eyes at the boy, "Oh, go to hell!"

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, Kylie's first time declaring she actually wanted to demonstrate affection towards Owen in a physical way! :D**


	65. Kylie's Idol

Chapter 65

Chapter 65

After riding the ferry all day Owen and I had finally made it to Pallet Town. Since the ride took all day, darkness was taking over the sky and the moon hung over our heads. The tiny sliver attempted to sparkle but it was rather dim and made it difficult to see our way home. Since I had only stayed in Pallet Town for one day before leaving on my journey, I didn't even remember which house was mine. Each white, small cottage looked identical to the next and the worst part was, they were all distributed far apart on the vast amount of farm land and hills in the town.

Eventually, I figured out this particular house was mine when I saw flames painted on the black, metal mailbox. I chuckled at the sight and suddenly became extremely excited to see my mom and dad again. I rushed to the front door, which was a pale blue matching the thin shutters. It was a small, two story house with white siding and trim. A patch of dirt sat in the backyard where normally vegetables would be lavishing, but since it was almost winter, this was no season for crops to be growing.

I almost burst through the front door but then I thought it might be funny if I gave my parents a scare. So, I placed my pointer finger up to my mouth and hushed Owen before pushing him behind a shrub. I leaned over and knocked gently on the wooden door before darting behind another shrub. The silver knob clanked back and forth before the door finally swung open. In the doorway stood my father, tall, broad shoulders, and thick neck. His long, graying hair pulled back in a low pony-tail just like those fancy movie directors. He still had that bushy mustache which I could never picture him without. My dad wore a green sweater with jeans and white tube socks on his feet.

I jumped out from behind the small tree, onto the front steps and yelled, "BLAHHH HAAA HAAAA!"

My father pulled back, covering his heart with the palm of his hand, "Kylie, you almost gave me a heart attack,"

"Hi dad," I greeted, tears of happiness practically rolling down my cheeks.

"Come here," he chuckled, putting his arms out for a hug.

I collapsed right into his arms and embraced the man tightly. I squeezed him almost as hard as I could, remembering the warmth and security of a family hug.

After separating, I stepped back and gestured towards Owen who was lingering shyly, "Dad, this is my friend Owen, I'm pretty sure you've talked to him on the phone,"

My dad placed his hand out and captured Owen's in a firm shake, "Great to finally meet you in person, Owen. I've heard plenty of great things about you from Kylie. She was so upset about moving and losing all her old friends, it's good to know she was able to make new ones so easily and enjoy her journey with you,"

"It's nice to meet you too," Owen smiled awkwardly.

"Boy, it's cold out here, let's go inside so you can hug your ballistic, crying mother," my dad joked.

Inside, the house was split into two major rooms by the case of stairs. To our left was the open kitchen, which had black appliances, russet cupboards, and a small, wooden table. To the right was the open living room which was painted a bright, pretty indigo with a black, leather sofa and a flat-screen television in front of it. In between the couch and TV was a long, narrow coffee table that didn't really match since it was red, but you can't expect much from parents who have mediocre decorating skills.

My mother was at the kitchen table sticking stamps on numerous envelopes. Her skin was tanner then usual and she wore her shoulder length, light brown, curly hair up in a bun, which was also rare. She wore a navy Slateport University sweatshirt with jeans and her face was unpolished with her typical heavy makeup.

When she saw the three of us standing in the front hall, she shot up from her chair, "Oh dear, Kylie, you're home!"

She raced over with tears of joy streaming from her eyes. My mother wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hugged me tightly. I nuzzled my chin into her shoulder, also happy to see her.

"And you must be Owen. Well, aren't you handsome," the woman commented, smiling away. She also hugged Owen tightly and I could see he was being suffocated, it was funny to watch. "I'm sorry, honey, but we don't have a spare bed for you to sleep in. But don't worry, I'll pile up some blankets and make that disgusting, old couch much more comfortable for you,"

Owen resisted politely, "That won't be necessary, I was just stopping by to make sure Kylie got home alright, but I'm going to start heading home,"

"Aren't you just the gentleman?" my mom sung, fanning her hand by her mouth impressed. "Where do you live?"

"Pewter City," Owen answered.

"Oh, no, no, no," my mother shook her head, placing her hands on Owen's shoulders and guiding him into the living room. "You're not walking all the way there in the dark,"

"Mom, what do you think we've been doing the past 11 months? I'm pretty positive Owen can handle it," I assured her.

My mom sighed in disappointment, "I thought the two of you were gonna sit down and tell us all about your adventures?"

"Honey, they're tired after a whole day at sea and finding the house. I'm sure they want to rest," my dad tried to convince her.

"Really, it's no big deal," Owen told them. "I'm just anxious to get home,"

"What time is it?" I asked in curiosity, waiting for anyone to answer.

"10:15," Owen answered.

My mom threw her hands in the air, "Owen, honey that is way too late for you to be wandering around at night. Please, stay for tonight. I'm sure your mother wouldn't want you going out in the woods at night either,"

Owen just bowed his head before nodding, giving in.

My mother walked away to go collect blankets and pillows for Owen to sleep with on the couch. Owen, my father, and I still stood in front of the stairs, unsure of what to do.

"That's a mighty nice watch you have there, son," my dad complimented, pointing to the shinning, silver timepiece.

Owen glanced at his wrist, like he had to refresh his brain what the wristwatch even looked like, he then smiled up at the superior, "Your daughter actually gave it to me,"

My dad raised a brow, smiling at me and nudging me gently in the ribs, "Oh did she?"

I laughed uncomfortably while scratching the back of my head, "Well, 10:15 you said it was? Man, I'm bushed, off to bed I go! Good night!"

The next morning I was woken by a blinding flash. I leaned forward on my bed to see my mother yanking the blinds upward then setting a laundry basket down on the floor. My room was cramped with a twin sized bed opposite wall of the closet. A dresser, nightstand, lamp, and desk all crowded the tiny box.

"Rise and shine!" my mother sung, smiling delightfully with the morning sun casting shadows on her face. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

I rubbed my eyes followed by a yawn, before turning over in my bed and covering my shoulder with the fuzzy blanket. I replied drowsily, "Some minutes after some hour,"

"It is 11 o'clock, missy. Now, I order you to get up and get dressed, there's a special visitor waiting for you downstairs," she chimed, brushing my shoulder as she exited the room.

I stumbled down the stairs and turned towards the kitchen. I forgot about my mother telling me to get dressed, since I was half asleep, so I was still wearing my grey, baggy, cotton sweatpants and an old, youth, basketball jersey. Finally, my eyes were free of pestering crusts and the sour taste in my mouth dissolved at the thought of sugary cereal satisfying my empty stomach. Then, there he was. Sitting casually at the table and talking to my parents, Owen, and his mother. They were all sharing a laugh, each adult gripping a mug filled with steaming coffee. He wore a white T-shirt with an unzipped, navy vest on top. His raven hair was jagged and messy. He wore jeans and some sneakers, with blue gloves clutching his fingers. My eyes widened and I stood there frozen when each of them looked up and saw my repulsive, just-woke-up appearance.

My mother introduced through her soft chuckling, "Kylie, this is Ash Ketchum,"

The teenage boy gave a simple wave of the hand, "Hi there,"

I giggled awkwardly, my hand cramping as I lifted it to wave back. A strand of slobber drooped from my lips and I sucked it back up, hoping no one saw the disgusting sight. As I tried to walk over towards the mingling people my knees wobbled and my head started to pound. Suddenly, everything went black. Moments later, I woke up in Ash's arms and he was smiling down sympathetically.

"Darling, are you alright?" my mother rushed over and asked me in a panic.

"What happened?" I asked in a daze, scooting away from my idol's grip.

"You just fainted," Owen spat, smirking devilishly at the hilarity.

"Oh," I snorted, dusting myself off after getting up, then inching out of the room. "I have this thing… I have to go!" I turned around and sprinted upstairs in humiliation and embarrassment. _Smooth move, Kylie, now your hero thinks you're a big idiot and a loser, _I thought angrily at myself.

I was hiding under my covers, my door locked so no one could come taunt me, mainly Owen, when I heard a gentle knock on the door. "Go away!" I snapped.

"Kylie, sweetie pie, please come out. Don't be embarrassed," my mother said.

I hollered in annoyance, "I'm never coming out and you can't make me!"

My mom sighed, "You know, that's too bad because I was going to make your favorite dessert,"

I shot towards the door, unlocked it, leaned against the door frame while smiling innocently, "I guess now _is_ never!"

After getting dressed I darted down the steps, practically falling on my face on the way down. Ash and Owen were sitting on the couch watching something on TV and having their male bonding.

"Speaking of the devil," Owen sneered.

"You guys were talking about me?" I raised a brow.

"So, Owen tells me that you're an expert on fire type Pokemon?" Ash questioned, getting up from his seat. His voice was raspy and deep, yet velvety and soothing. I could listen to it all day. The older teen was pretty tall with developing arm muscles and whiskers on his chin.

I shook nervously, feeling like I was talking to a celebrity, "Ye-yeah, that's m-me,"

"We should have a battle, I'm pretty sure Pikachu wouldn't mind kicking your butt," Ash teased. I just noticed the Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. It was adorable, electric yellow skin with black tips on its long, triangular ears. His tail was jagged in the shape of a lightening bolt and two, red sacs were on his cheeks.

"It's so cute!" I squealed, scratching under its chin.

Ash smiled, "Pikachu was my first Pokemon I ever got. Who was your first?"

"I'll show you," I told him.

We met outside and stood apart on the dirt road in our battle stances. Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder and I released Charmander from his Pokeball. The two Pokemon met at the center and gave each other a friendly, respectful handshake before the match, it was adorable.

"I used to have a Charmander as well. It actually evolved into a Charizard later on," Ash informed me.

I danced on the inside, knowing I had the same Pokemon he once did. All the adults flooded from the house, suddenly interested in watching our battle.

"You can go first," Ash insisted politely.

"Uh ok, Charmander use…" I blanked on all of his moves. I was too star struck to think straight.

"Scratch, ember, flamethrower, leer," Owen rolled his eyes and reminded me.

"Oh, right," I gulped, then shook my head to purge my edginess. "Charmander, use leer!" I commanded.

Before Ash could counter attack, Charmander petrified Pikachu with an intimidating glare. Charmander's eyes beamed yellow and growled slightly.

"Now hit Pikachu with a scratch attack!" I instructed next.

Charmander dashed over and slashed Pikachu on the side, cleansing the electric type of his immobility.

"Nice move, Kylie," Ash complimented, seeming to be impressed. "Pikachu, give it all you got, thunder bolt!"

Pikachu launched into the air, static lashing off his red cheeks. The mouse Pokemon grumbled menacingly before unleashing a powerful and blinding surge of electricity. The lightening coursed through out Charmander's body and he cried shrilly from the shocking pain.

"Charmander!" I called worriedly. "I should have never let him battle so early after his last. He was badly hurt and now he'll be in even worse shape," I bowed my head and muttered, ashamed of my decision.

"C'mon sweetie, the battle is still on!" my mother shouted. "Don't give up!"

"Go easy on her, Ash," Delia warned her son.

I quickly interrupted, "No, don't go easy on me. If I'm going to enter the Pokemon League I'm going to have to be ready to face anybody at any skill level. If Ash goes easy on me, it's only hurting us more,"

Ash nodded reverently, "She's right,"

"Charmander, can you keep going?" I asked him.

He nodded back feebly.

"Sorry, to cut things short but we have some important businesses to take care of!" a high-pitched girlish voice snickered.

Above our heads floated Team Rocket's Meowth balloon. Inside was the delinquent trio of Jesse, James, and Meowth. Each of them had a smirk plastered across their face and Meowth was holding a remote control like usual. Jesse with her long, magenta hair sticking sideways and James's purple hair dangled to his shoulders. The two humans wore their white uniforms with a large, red R on the front.

"What do you want now?" I exasperated, sticking my tongue out in annoyance and laziness. I wasn't exactly in the mood to have my Pokemon taken away from me for the thirtieth time.

"I thought I got rid of you guys years ago!" Ash shook his fist angrily.

"Would you look at that," Meowth snarled. "Old twerp and new twerp,"

"It must be Christmas!" James chimed.

Meowth snickered, "Yeah, because we're gettin' some new Pokemon!"

Meowth pressed a large, red button and two, metal claws snaked out from a compartment in their balloon basket. The two clamps grabbed Charmander and Pikachu rapidly and drew them closer towards the basket.

"We'd love to stick around, but we have some new presents to deliver to our boss," Jesse said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Too-da-loo!" the three waved tauntingly as their balloon floated away.

"Ash, do something!" Delia demanded.

"I can't, I don't have any other Pokemon with me," he tossed his arms up in the air.

"We'll handle this," I said determinedly, Owen and I stepping forward. "I choose you, Rapidash!"

The light furred horse with a horn on its forehead appeared from the Pokeball. Next, Owen sent out his Lickitung and Poliwag.

"Lickitung, use hyper beam," Owen instructed.

Sparkles of yellow energy began to collect in Lickitung's mouth. When the ball of energy was large enough, the normal type shot the hyper beam and hit the metal claws, destroying them immediately. The scraps of metal descended to the ground and Charmander and Pikachu landed safely on the ground.

"Now Rapidash," I started. "Use ember!"

"And Poliwag, you use bubble beam," Owen instructed subsequently.

Rapidash spat numerous sparks of fire towards Team Rocket's balloon and Poliwag shot a river of bubbles. The three squeezed each other in fright and shrieked as the two attacks grew closer to exploding their balloon. The ember burned holes right through the balloon and the bubbles pounded against the hot air balloon's fabric. The balloon exploded and the group of thieves was sent flying into the sky. They disappeared with a twinkle in the evening sky while shouting "looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Nice work, you guys are a great team," Ash walked over, giving us both a high five. "Thanks for getting back Pikachu back,"

"No problem," we said.

"I have something I want you to have as a thanks," Ash told me before jogging to his house.

About ten minutes later, Delia went home and my parents, Owen, and I gathered back inside. I was up in my room putting away some of my laundry when I heard the doorbell ring. Next, I heard footsteps stomp up the stairs and Ash appeared in my doorway with something behind his back.

"As a thanks to my number one fan, I want you to have this," he smiled, revealing the item from behind his back. It was a white and red baseball cap with a green C on the front. "This used to be my favorite hat when I was a kid. It's an official Pokemon League cap,"

"Are you serious?" I gasped in delight. "You want me to have this!?"

"Yep," he nodded kindly.

"This is the best gift I've ever gotten!" I squealed, ripping it from his hands and placing it on my head. I looked at the mirror above my dresser to see how it looked. "Thank you so much!"

He shrugged with a small smile, "No problem,"


	66. Battle At The Laboratory

Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

I shot up from my bed so quickly that I lost my balance and plummeted to the floor. My tail bone stabbed the hardwood floors and the fall shook the entire house. I opened my eyes after rubbing my aching back to see my mother hovering over me. She was smiling manically with a flower pot in one hand and a watering can in the other.

"Mom, what are doing? Are you trying to make me fracture my own back?" I grumbled irritably.

"I'm sorry, but you can not waste anymore time sleeping, young lady. I asked Professor Oak if you could visit him today and he said yes. That man is taking time from his extremely busy schedule to see you, so you are not missing this," my mom snubbed before exiting the room.

After getting dressed into jeans, a yellow T-shirt, and flats, I went downstairs. My parents were drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, and munching on donuts at the kitchen table. Owen just departed from the bathroom so he was right behind me. We made it downstairs and after eating two, chocolate glazed donuts Owen got up from the table with his backpack on his shoulders.

"Going somewhere?" I asked.

"I'm going home now," said Owen.

My mother instantly opposed, "No, no, no, sit down and have another donut,"

"Thanks for everything, but I want to go home," Owen replied.

I chuckled, "For some reason I always thought you'd be smooth around parents,"

"I haven't really had to deal with any in the last nine years," Owen reminded me.

"Honey, let the boy go," my father sighed, not taking his eyes off the article he was reading. "He's obviously home sick,"

"Oh, alright," my mother finally gave in. "Kylie, be a good host and walk with him,"

I followed Owen to the end of the driveway where I faced him and asked, "Will I ever see you again?"

"I sure hope not," Owen kidded.

I chuckled softly, but that quickly turned to a frown, "I can't believe it's almost over,"

"What is?"

"Our journey," I answered sadly. "Time goes by so fast,"

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, you can visit my grandpa anytime," Owen joked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I gave the boy a soft hug before saying good-bye. As he back pedaled a few steps away, with two fingers he gave me a salute, then turned back and disappeared on the horizon. My mom kicked open the front door, waving a fly swatter through the air angrily.

"KYLIE SCORCH, IF YOU DO NOT GET YOUR BUTT DOWN TO PROFESSOR OAK'S LAB RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL NOT BE FED TONIGHT!" she barked.

With that, I zoomed down the road and headed for the famous researcher's lab. The building was located towards the center of town on the top of a steep hill. I climbed the stone steps which led up to the ranch house that also utilized as a Pokemon research laboratory. I visited this sacred place on the first day of my journey, the day I received Charmander as my starter Pokemon. When I finally reached the front door, it amazed me how time went by so quickly.

An elder wearing a lab coat, blue dress shirt underneath, and black slacks answered the door. He smiled pleasantly, "Kylie, it's good to see you,"

"Nice to see you too, Professor," I beamed back.

The scientist welcomed me into his home. The house was very similar to mine except a lot larger with more space. To the left was the kitchen and to the right was the living room, each divided by the case of stairs. The walls were white and the décor was casual, relaxed, and simple. In the living room, there were two couches which faced each other and a coffee table in the middle. A fire place was built against the wall and pictures of family members and close friends scattered the walls.

There, sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine, sat my arch-rival Zane. He wore his shabby, leather jacket pompously with the collar slightly popped in the back, brushing his golden hairs which grew from his neck. The rest of his platinum yellow locks stuck out jaggedly in front of his forehead. He also wore black, worn jeans with steel toed boots. Six Pokeballs were clamped to his belt.

"You remember my grandson Zane, don't you?" Professor Oak gestured towards the arrogant boy sitting on the loveseat.

I spat in undertone, "Pffft, how could I forget?"

Zane looked up from his skimming, and smirked once he saw me standing a few feet away. He derided, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Little Scorch? I guess you finally got past your old man, huh? Kind of sad how it took you so long just to beat the old geezer,"

"I'm just so glad you could be here and grace me with your presence," I said sarcastically.

He smacked the magazine down and sprung up from his seat. "You should be happy, I'm the only one who knows where the Pokemon League is taking place and when," he bragged.

Professor Oak rolled his eyes a tad, "Zane, don't be foolish. Almost everyone knows where the Pokemon League is,"

"I don't," I admitted shamefully.

"That's why you're here, Kylie. To learn everything you need to know before the big competition. Every year the Pokemon League takes place at the Indigo Plateau," Professor Oak explained.

I shrugged uninformed, "Where's that?"

Zane cocked his head back and laughed. "You don't even know where that is? C'mon Little Scorch, every superlative trainer knows where the Indigo Plateau is. Unless, of course… oh that's right, you aren't even second-rate, are you?" he mocked.

"Now, now, Zane," the professor narrowed his eyes at the rude boy. "Once Kylie earns her eighth badge she'll be able to register for the Pokemon League. Then you'll be able to log onto their site and you can see your win-lose ratio compared to the other competitors," Professor Oak continued to enlighten.

"How many people usually participate in the contest?" I asked.

"Over 200 trainers enter every year," Zane butted in. "And each round you get randomly matched up to an opponent you may have never met before. There are a total of eight rounds through out the competition, so if you don't even make it past round four you know you're no good,"

"Two hundred?!" I repeated in astonishment. "I don't know if I can handle that," I exhaled, rubbing my forehead, overwhelmed.

"You better wimp out now if you're thinking that way," Zane advised in a snicker.

Professor Oak nodded, "That's right, Kylie. A positive attitude in you and your Pokemon is essential for success,"

"Well, how long do I have to prepare for this?" I asked.

"The Indigo League is in the beginning of spring, in just two months," Professor Oak crossed his arms knowingly.

I gasped, "WHAT?! That's not nearly enough time for me to earn my eighth badge and travel all the way to wherever the heck it is!" I shouted in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Kylie," Oak shook his head. "But if you ever need help training I'm sure Zane here, would love to help you out,"

The teenage boy rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, like I'd waste my time helping out a child like her,"

"I don't need his help anyway, Professor," I said confidently, forming a fist with my hand. "I bet I could beat you if we battled right now,"

Zane shrugged after putting his hands in his pockets, "Sure, I got nothing else to do,"

Behind the professor's house were tons of acres of farmland. Endless amounts of hills, gentle creeks, and of course Pokemon all over the lush, green land. Tons of Pokemon, some which I had never seen in real life, grazed and napped on the thriving ranch. I even spotted some Rapidash, Cubone, and Growlithe.

Zane and I stood apart with Pokeballs in our hands, "I'm not about to lose to you," I told him.

"Keep telling yourself that," he sneered. "Piloswine, show 'em what you're made of!" Zane shouted as he hurled a Pokeball in the air.

A bush of shaggy, chocolate brown hair formed from the ashen light and had a pig nose with tusks. I knew Piloswine was an ice type, so my fire type Pokemon would have a huge advantage.

"Houndoom, I choose you!" I exclaimed, pitching the Pokeball forward.

The sleek wolf-like Pokemon burst from the metal storage device and pawed at the ground eagerly. Houndoom howled and sent shivers down my spine, like a wolf calling to the moon on Halloween night.

"Houndoom, use faint attack!" I commenced the battle.

Before Zane could respond with a counter attack, Houndoom had already disappeared then reappeared in front of Piloswine with a dark flash. Houndoom tackled Piloswine causing the ice type Pokemon to skid across the grass.

"Great job, Houndoom," I complimented encouragingly.

Zane gritted his teeth, "Icy wind followed by mud bomb!"

Piloswine let out a bull-like grunt before shaking its disheveled fur. This odd movement caused a sudden gust mixed with ice crystals to blow past. The powerful, heavy snow storm that Piloswine had created made it difficult to see. Goose bumps crawled up my arms and down my legs and Houndoom was no where in sight. Next, I heard a splat and when the ice storm cleared, Houndoom's face was covered in brown muck. He attempted to shake if off and wipe it away with his paws, but no luck, the sticky, mud-liquid wasn't coming off his fur and made it difficult for him to see.

"Stick in there, Houndoom," I supported. I looked back at Zane and scoffed, "You may have temporarily blinded him, but you forgot one thing, 'Little Oak', dogs have super hearing,"

"That doesn't scare me, your pathetic Houndoom won't last much longer," Zane sneered. "Piloswine, use take down!"

Piloswine charged towards the blinded Houndoom with its tusks pointed forward. I quickly advised, "Houndoom, just wait and listen, then strike,"

As Piloswine grew closer and closer I could see Houndoom's ears twitching, intently listening for the Pokemon to step close enough for Houndoom to attack it unexpectedly. Piloswine arrived at his side and swung its head back to rock forward and pierce Houndoom with its large tusks. However, Houndoom sensed that Piloswine was right by him and before blasting it away with a flamethrower, he dodged the attack. Piloswine tumbled to the ground after getting hit by the overbearing flames.

Zane quickly returned his Piloswine and sent out his Sandslash. With one strike of the fury swipes and another hit from a rollout, Houndoom was defeated. I next released my Croconaw which had an enormous advantage over Sandslash as a ground type. Croconaw beat Sandslash with two water guns and a slash attack. Next, Zane called for his Magneton. It was an odd looking creature with three faces each on a silver, magnetic sphere which floated in a triangular formation. On the sides of their heads were red and blue magnets which I'm assuming kept the three heads together.

"So, your Magnemite evolved," I noted.

Zane rolled his eyes, "And yet you continue to point out the obvious. Magneton, use thunder wave!"

Croconaw was at an obvious disadvantage, so I had to think up a strategy fast. The paralyzing bolt of electricity was darting right towards Croconaw and looked dangerously powerful.

"Croconaw, bite the ground!" I shouted rapidly. The Pokemon looked back at me puzzled. "Just do it!"

Croconaw cocked his head back and unhinged his jaw before clamping his razor sharp teeth into the moist dirt. His tail and feet stuck up in the air as if he were doing a handstand only with his mouth. The bolt of electricity coursed through Croconaw's tail all the way through his body down to the ground, just as I planned, although he did get shocked a bit.

"What happened?" Zane asked, dumbfounded by the fact his attack barely had any affect.

"Croconaw used his tail like a lightening rod and since all lightening just wants to touch the ground, I made Croconaw connected to the earth so the electricity would go right through him and just into the ground," I explained proudly.

"Well done, Kylie!" Professor Oak cheered. "What an amazing strategy!"

"Hear that, Zane? Your own grandfather is even impressed with me out smarting you," I smirked.

He growled aggravatingly, "Granddad, don't cheer for the other side!" Zane focused back on the match, "Let's see if your stupid crocodile can 'lightening rod' this! Magneton, use all your strength and burn that alligator to a crisp!"

Sparks of electricity flickered from each of Magneton's heads. The robotic sounding Pokemon repeated syllables of its name, concentrating deeply on collecting enough strength and energy in order to release a powerful attack. Finally, Magneton unleashed an amazingly intense jolt of lightening which shocked Croconaw endlessly. After the energy died down, I returned Croconaw to his Pokeball for some rest.

"You did awesome out there, buddy," I whispered to the Pokeball with a smile.

After Croconaw was trounced by Zane's Magneton I sent out Cubone who wasn't affected by Magneton's electrical attacks. Eventually, after numerous rock slides and bonemerangs, Magneton was retrieved back to his Pokeball. Eventually, Zane's Staravia defeated my Cubone, then Rapidash beat his Staravia. After that he sent out a dopey, pink Pokemon with the body of a pig and the tail of a salamander.

"What's Pokemon is that?" I questioned, pulling out my Pokedex.

_Slowpoke, _the Pokedex identified, _although slow, it is skilled at fishing with its tail. It does not feel pain if its tail is bitten._

"Don't let the Pokedex fool you," Zane warned with a devilish grin. "Slowpoke is my strongest Pokemon and has never been defeated,"

"Are you false advertising just to make nervous or chicken out?" I raised a brow.

"You doubted him, now you can see his true strength," Zane responded with a shrug of the shoulders. "Slowpoke, use water pulse!"

"Rapidash, dodge with agility," I instructed swiftly.

Slowpoke tilted his head back and shot water out of his mouth. The droplets came down like a torrential downpour. Even though Rapidash was barely visible running around using agility, the water pulse was unavoidable. The hammering rain pelted the fire type's fur and her fiery mane and tail dwindled. The horse-like Pokemon whinnied in agony, like the water was burning her skin more than the actual fire that persisted on her back. With that one attack, Rapidash wasn't able to battle any longer. Sure, it was a water move against a fire type, but that was the quickest I've ever seen defeat. A one hit knock out.

Next, Growlithe challenged Slowpoke's inexplicable power, but with a single water gun Growlithe was down and out. Charmander was my only Pokemon left, and still wasn't fully recovered from his wounds that he got on Cinnabar Island. It was a risky maneuver but I wasn't about to lose to Zane, and especially to this lug Slowpoke.

Charmander sat at my feet and I knelt on one knee. "Take it easy, Charmander," I whispered to him. "If you need to take a rest, just tell me,"

"Are you going to keep lecturing your pet lizard, or are we finally gonna get this over with?" Zane sighed impatiently, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

"You'll regret the day you ever challenge Charmander and I," I seethed.

Zane spat in laughter, "Pffft, I doubt that. Alright Slowpoke, hit it with a water gun," Zane calmly instructed.

"Dodge it and use slash!" I shouted.

Slowpoke fired his water gun but Charmander was able to speedily evade the blast. As Charmander soared through the air from avoiding the attack, he slashed Slowpoke with his razor sharp talons and a gash on Slowpoke's forehead appeared.

"Nice going, Charmander!" I swung my arm in glee. Charmander leapt into the air out of pure joy and success of the attack. However, this did not slow Slowpoke down, ironically. Slowpoke fired another water gun at Charmander as he danced in celebration. Charmander skid across the ground and landed before me. He opened his eyes feebly and I held his head in my arms.

"That was a cheap shot, Zane," I said through my grinding teeth. Charmander has had low confidence and self esteem since he lost against my grandfather, so Zane was an ass for catching him off guard while he was feeling good about himself again.

"A win is still a win," he shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets after returning his unbeatable beast. "And while you're over there tending to your weak group of pansies, I'll be off getting stronger then you've ever dreamed of becoming,"

I stood up with Charmander in arms, "You can keep saying all that crap to put me down in order to make yourself feel better, but your mind games aren't going to work on me. So, you know what you can do with that Slowpoke of yours? You can just take the stupid thing and shove it up you're a-" I threatened.

Professor Oak cleared his throat, eyeing me guardedly.

Zane laughed, before walking away with that haughty smirk persisting on his face.

"I think you battled excellently, Kylie," Professor Oak complimented. "You have great strategic moves, and you don't just fire away, you think before attacking and consider your surroundings. I believe you will be a fine Pokemon master some day,"

"You really think so?" I gasped gleefully.

The professor nodded, "Yes, I do. Tell me, where or whom did you learn such great traits from?"

I bowed my head, thinking of who taught me most of what I know about Pokemon. My dad and grandpa have always guided along the way when I was a child with a dream, but really the person who helped me most was Owen. I realized then, that I wouldn't have earned any of my badges without his help.

"So?" the elderly researcher sung impatiently, bringing me back to reality. "Who?"

I smiled and replied, "A great friend of mine."


	67. Earning The Earth Badge

Chapter 67

Chapter 67

A couple days later, the sun had just risen and I was collecting all my things in order to make a trip to Viridian City, where I would hope to earn my eighth and final badge. I stuffed clothes and different Pokemon medicines into my messenger bag.

After hugging both my parents I left Pallet Town to embark on the mini journey to Viridian City, which was just north. I traveled through the tall, meadow grass which separated the two towns. By late afternoon I safely reached Viridian City. The small metropolis was spacious with a small Pokemart and Pokemon Center on the same block and few residential households populating the land. After a couple minutes wandering through town I spotted the gym. It looked like a roman building with marble pillars supporting the long overhang and two, large, copper doors on the front of the building.

I inhaled then exhaled deeply one last time before pushing the heavy doors open and entering the dark room. Thanks to the power of carrots, I was able to see some metal bleachers surrounding the Pokemon field in the center of the large room. Two, tall podiums with steps leading up to the top and a railing surrounding it were at each end of the Pokemon battling field, instead of trainer boxes. The one closest to me was blue and the one on the other end was painted red.

"Hello?" I said, my voice echoing in the room. "I'm here to challenge the gym leader," I took a few steps forward, and that caused a sensor light to flash on the blue plinth. It was annoyingly bright and I had to shield my eyes as I climbed up the small case up steps which led to the standing area.

Once I reached the top, another light above the other podium turned on, which lit up the whole field and dimly made the bleachers around the arena visible. I tapped my foot and whistled, which echoed right back at me as I waited for the arrival of the gym leader.

"Where are youuuu?" I sang impatiently, glaring at my wrist wishing I had a watch.

Finally, I heard footsteps. They grew louder and then I heard tapping against the opposing trainer's stand. It sounding like another person was walking up the steps to get to the top. I bit my bottom lip, now anxious and nervous for my final Pokemon battle before the Pokemon League. It all comes down to this one match.

A young man with short, light brown hair and a long, narrow face stepped into the spot light. He wore a black jumpsuit with a bold, red R on the front of his shirt. The teenage boy also wore white gloves which extended to his mid forearm and matching boots.

My jaw dropped, "Lucien, is that you?!" I gasped.

The boy shrugged gesturing his arms outward, "In the flesh,"

"You work for Team Rocket?" I questioned in disbelief, my eyes widened in shock.

He responded timidly, "Yeah, I work for them. You're looking at the best goon on the squad. I've provided Team Rocket with most of their Pokemon they've used in experiments, and half of that is thanks to you, Kylie,"

"What?" I replied in bewilderment.

"After gaining your trust I just followed you everywhere, and everywhere you went there were Pokemon to capture and send off to the boss. So, thanks for playing apart in Team Rocket's success," he smiled heartlessly.

I couldn't believe that I had helped this merciless, cruel jackass collect all those Pokemon and send them off to be tested on and mistreated. All those abused, innocent creatures got harmed because of me. I felt like launching across the room and attacking him until his eyes bled.

I shook with rage, "How could you!? What happened to Jesse and James? I thought they followed me?"

Lucien quickly replied, happy to enlighten me with the details, "Those two no longer have you as their assignment, now you're _my_ target,"

"You're mad," I quivered, fury coursing through my veins.

"No, I'm just a person willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want," Lucien smirked, his arms crossed.

Tears began to pour down my cheeks. My legs grew numb with all this sudden treachery. "I trusted you! You betrayed me! I loved you!" I shouted through my tears, collapsing to my knees.

He shook his head, "You never loved me, you love that Owen kid,"

I got back up on my feet and swept away my continuous tears, "You're right, I do," I confessed openly. "And you made me realize that,"

"I think you've known it all along," Lucien opposed. "I could see it in your eyes the day we met. But don't let this… what's the word? Don't let this 'stunning reveal' overlook our history together. It's not too late to join our side. We can still be together, Kylie,"

"You sicken me," I scowled, looking in the other direction.

He shrugged, "Your loss,"

"Well, don't tell me you're the gym leader," I seethed through my teeth, tears finally diminishing.

"This gym is owned by Team Rocket and Giovanni has asked me to manage it for the day. Lucky me, I get a visit from my beautiful girlfriend," he smiled flirtatiously, as if complimenting me will make me forgive him.

I couldn't help but begin to cry again. I looked down at the silver ring on my finger. Rage trickled through me and my teeth grinded against each other in pure hatred. I wiggled the ring back and forth and slipped it off my left ring finger. I held the trinket in my hand, analyzing the engraved flames all around it. I glanced back at Lucien who stood there pompously. Finally, my wrath over powered me and I chucked the ring at the backstabber.

"Don't you dare call me that! Don't you even look at me! Don't you even say my name!" I admonished. "I swear I won't hesitate what so ever to run over there and slice your head off,"

"Whoa, whoa, getting a little feisty now are we?" Lucien teased.

"Shut up and battle me!" I demanded. "I came here for that Earth Badge and I intend to get it,"

"On one condition,"

I immediately countered, "You're in no position to be making an ultimatum. Remember, I'm not afraid to storm over there and end you,"

"First off, I highly doubt you would kill me. I mean seriously, you help out everything in sight," Lucien ridiculed. "Second off, I don't think you have much of a choice,"

Right as he said that, two slots opened near my feet and chains appeared and clamped around my ankles. Next, a metal box was lifted from underneath the base of the podium. It was about five feet away and notches appeared between the box and where I was standing.

"Please, let me explain," Lucien grinned oh-so generously. "If I win you have to hand over all your Pokemon to me,"

"Too bad you won't be winning this time, Lucien!" I shouted.

"Don't get too concerned, because if you win I'll let you free on your merry, little way. Each Pokemon of mine you defeat that box will grow closer to you. If you beat all of my Pokemon then that box will be close enough for you to open it and retrieve the key inside in order to unlock those shackles," Lucien explained, wiggling his eye brows.

I attempted to slide the manacles off my feet, but they were tight. I looked back up at the cold-blooded human across from me and nodded in agreement. I had no choice now but to battle him. I knew after this long year of training my intense team of six, we could handle anything. Experiencing near death situations, overcoming immense storms, and dealing with robberies along with insane psychopaths, this was just another bump in the road.

"Lucien, you said you're willing to do anything to get what you want. Well, that makes two of us. And I will stop at nothing to achieve my goal. And I will stop at nothing to defeat you. And I can promise you, that I will someday put an end to Team Rocket's quarries," I said, narrowing my eyes at the boy. "I'm not about to back down now. My Pokemon and I can endure anything you throw our way!" I yelled determinedly, swinging my arm across.

"Alright then, let's start this little shindig, shall we?" he sneered, enlarging a Pokeball in his hand. "Assemble your best three Pokemon, because they'll be in for the battle of their life. Go Dewgong!" Lucien lightly tossed the Pokeball with the flick of two fingers. The mechanism rolled on the compact, dirt floor before bursting open with white light. A large, white seal with a flowing tail popped out. I immediately checked the Pokedex for more information.

_In snow, Dewgong's pure white coat obscures it from predators._

"Okay then, I choose you, Growlithe!" I exclaimed, chucking his Pokeball in front of the slender seal. "Growlithe, use take down!"

"Hit it with aurora beam!" Lucien shouted subsequently.

Growlithe kicked up some dirt before digging his paws into the ground and launching forward with a sudden spurt of speed. Dewgong opened its mouth wide and different mixtures of violets, indigoes, and cherry colors got absorbed from the air and created an energy ball inside its mouth. As Growlithe charged towards the water and ice type Pokemon, Dewgong shot the stream of different colored energies at him. Growlithe was hit right in the chest and stumble backwards.

"Hang in there, Growlithe," I called to him.

Suddenly, sparks lashed from underneath my sneakers, then bolts of electricity coursed from the base of the podium all through my body. It felt like my blood was getting zapped in a microwave. It boiled and gurgled painfully within my skin and I fell to my knees unable to handle the stinging shock.

"What… the hell," I panted, "was that?"

Lucien snickered loudly, before replying with a psychotic grin, "That's just a little shock to wake you up. It's only fare if you feel the pain your Pokemon do,"

"I'll still win," I breathed heavily, unsteadily getting off my hands and knees. "Growlithe, use flamethrower," I instructed.

"Dewgong, fight back with ice beam!" Lucien ordered.

Growlithe planted his four paws in the ground before inhaling greatly and firing the flamethrower from his mouth. Dewgong instantly fired its ice beam and the two collided in the center of the field. However, the ice melted on contact and Growlithe's flamethrower was able to push through the weak attack. Dewgong was surrounded by flames and the Pokemon that mysteriously floated in the air tumbled to the ground.

"Return you useless monster," Lucien snarled angrily. The box that was about five feet away was pulled about a foot closer towards me. I tried to lean over and touch it but it was too far.

"No cheating!" Lucien roared. "I cannot lose to you! I refuse to lose!" Lucien held his head, starting to look a bit psychotic. He tossed three Pokeballs on the field at once. The first to appear on the field was a simple, spherical Pokemon with a white upper half and a maroon lower half. It looked almost like a Pokeball.

"What's that?" I asked aloud, reaching for my Pokedex once again.

_Electrode is known to drift on winds if it is bloated to bursting with stored electricity._

The next Pokemon was a tall grass type which looked like a Palm tree with eggs surrounding the bushel of leaves coming from the top. On each of the pale yellow eggs was a face with a different expression. One looked dopey, the other looked content, and the last one appeared angry. The Pokedex identified it as Exeggutor.

The last monster was a black blob with an evil grin sheltered by a thick, blue conch shell Spikes staggered out from the Pokemon's tough armor and Dexter explained that its name was Cloyster and it was a water type.

"Hey, sending three Pokemon out at once is illegal!" I protested.

Lucien quickly growled, "I don't care, this is my gym with my rules!"

"Well then, if those are the rules then I guess I can do it too," I replied with a smirk. "Go Rapidash and Cubone!"

"Exeggutor, Electrode, Cloyster, attack all at once!" Lucien commanded.

Exeggutor hit Cubone with a razor leaf, Electrode shocked Rapidash with a thunderbolt, and Growlithe got struck by Cloyster's bubble beam. As all of this happened more electricity got surged through my body and it was the most painful shock yet. Each of my Pokemon looked back in concern but I told them to keep fighting.

"Rapidash, hit Exeggutor with flamethrower. Growlithe, you do the same to Electrode. Cubone, hit Cloyster with a rockslide," I instructed, my voice undertone and weak.

Exeggutor's leafy head caught on fire and Cloyster got buried in rocks. However, after Growlithe hit Electrode with his flamethrower, Electrode began to spark with electricity. The electric type Pokemon began to glow a blinding white and suddenly a deafening shriek echoed through out the city. Rays of golden and ashen light shot from Electrode's circular body and then erupted into flames. The earth shook thunderously and both Lucien and I were knocked off our feet. Every Pokemon was blown away from the explosion so as I fell to the ground from the earth rattling more lightening zapped me.

"The battle isn't over," Lucien grunted as he picked himself off the ground and returned each of his Pokemon.

I attempted to get up but I could barely move. The silver box moved around three feet closer and I could just brush it with the tips of my fingers. I saw all my fainted Pokemon so I recalled them to their Pokeballs and finally stood shakily on my feet. Lucien sent out two more Pokemon, a Hitmonchan and a Venusaur, the final evolved stage of Bulbasaur. I sent out Charmander and Croconaw to take on the two new opponents.

"Kylie, why don't we just settle this in the back closet? I'll even throw in a back rub," Lucien insisted, shifting his shoulders back and forth flirtatiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little busy kicking your butt. Charmander, use flamethrower! Croconaw, use water gun!" I pointed in a shout.

"Hitmonchan, dodge Croconaw's attack and use fire punch to block Charmander's attack!" Lucien abruptly instructed.

Hitmonchan jumped out of the way of Croconaw's water gun and was able to hop in front of Venusaur, coat its arm in fire, and then thwart Charmander's flamethrower.

Next, an idea sprung to my head. "Charmander, use scratch on Hitmonchan and Croconaw you use water gun on Venusaur,"

Venusaur was pelted by the crocodile's ineffective attack while Charmander leapt forward and attempted to scratch Hitmonchan across the face. However, the punching Pokemon simply blocked the slash with its leather, red glove.

"Croconaw, crunch on Hitmonchan and Charmander, slid through Hitmonchan's legs and use flamethrower!" I speedily rambled, hoping to catch Lucien by surprise.

Charmander immediately began to blast fire from his mouth as he glided through Hitmonchan's twiggy legs. Venusaur got encased by flames and toppled to the ground. Meanwhile, Croconaw soared over Hitmonchan's head and whilst doing so, clamped onto its feathery cranium.

"Combo attack!" I next shouted.

"Block it with thunder punch!" Lucien demanded in frustration.

Croconaw and Charmander stood side by side and fired a water gun flamethrower mixture towards the punching Pokemon. Hitmonchan cocked its fist back as tiny bolts lashed from its glove. The thunder punch and combo stream of flames and water clashed and white smoke drifted from the explosive collision. However, when the smoke cleared Hitmonchan lay motionless on the ground as Charmander and Croconaw gave each other a victorious high five.

"Looks like I win," I grinned, the box stopping at my ankles and opening up to reveal the hidden, silver key stored inside. After unlocking the shackles, I raced down the steps and my two Pokemon greeted me with a celebratory hug. I snuggled the two of them close to me before spotting Lucien tip-toeing away in my peripheral. "Not so fast!" I halted the stealthy boy. "I won, so give me the Earth Badge," I ordered.

Lucien snorted obnoxiously as his eyes went cross eyed manically, "I never lose. I am the best of Team Rocket there ever is. You won't be getting this badge today," Lucien snickered. "Say bye-bye to the Earth Badge," he said as he put it towards his mouth to swallow it.

"Say bye-bye to your consciousness," I countered, swinging my fist and punching Lucien in the face.

The boy twirled about before landing on his stomach with a loud thud. I knelt down and unfolded his hand before seizing the leaf shaped emblem from him. I held the pin up to the light and it sparkled wondrously. I stood back up and clasped it on beside my seven others. Finally, my collection was complete. I was now officially qualified to enter the Kanto Pokemon League at the Indigo Plateau.

Joy overwhelmed me and I burst into a commemorative, victorious dance. Charmander and Croconaw soon joined me. I held Charmander's tiny paws in my hands and we pretended to tango. I spun him a few times and then did a jig with Croconaw. Before long we grew tired and collapsed to the floor. Laughter erupted from the pit of our stomachs and we sat there cracking up while gasping for air.

"Thanks for helping me you guys," I smiled at my two superb Pokemon. "I love you guys. I love all of you so much,"

I took all my Pokemon to the Viridian City Pokemon Center, where each of my hardworking companions rested. I also stayed the night and Nurse Joy led me to a room where I could sleep. There was a cot with a fluffy, white pillow and a fresh comforter sprawled over the makeshift bed. The room smelt like fresh linen and I couldn't wait to lie down and sleep, but when my head touched the pillow, my eyes didn't shut once. I was too excited, happy, and thrilled to finally accomplish one of my major goals in life. Alls I did until about three in the morning was stare at my badges and reminisce. What a journey it's been indeed.


	68. A Day Of Training

Chapter 68

Chapter 68

That morning walking back to Pallet I let each of my Pokemon out of their Pokeballs. The day was damp, dreary, and foggy, but that didn't wane our high-spirited optimism. Growlithe, Charmander, and Rapidash chased each other around the premises and Cubone napped on Houndoom's back. Croconaw eyed some Pidgey cooing in a near by tree while I giddily watched each them carry on through their own activities.

I bought a black, plastic case with flames on it to place my badges in. With a light tap of the button on the front edge, the lid popped open to reveal each of my newly shined badges. They glistened brilliantly, sitting peacefully on the red, cotton cushion below them. Ok, I stared at these things so much the image burned right through my head. I just couldn't get over how in a single year one person and six Pokemon achieved so much. Each badge had a story of their own as well.

The Boulder Badge, my very first badge earned with the help from a mysterious man who later turned out to be Owen's grandfather. Mr. Boxer was also the one to convince Owen and me to travel together. He helped me by training with Owen's Lickitung. I would've never earned that badge without his help.

When I earned my second badge I met Misty, a girl who used to travel with Ash Ketchum when she was a kid. She taught me that even though a boy and a girl travel together, people jump to conclusions about their relationship status. After beating her Staryu and Starmie I won the Cascade Badge.

My third gym battle was against the arrogant, buff Lt. Surge. We met him once before my gym battle because he and his Raichu entered the KPFT and lost to Owen and his Hitmonlee. That didn't give us the warmest start. Lt. Surge's Raichu seemed invincible until a rush of energy burst from Charmander and he amazingly defeated the electric mouse. I think that's when Team Rocket realized Charmander's true strength and started to follow our group.

Earning the Marsh Badge required a lot of work. Sabrina had a split personality, literally. She kept a doll which held her true, sensitive self, and her old Pokemon Haunter let that alter ego free. Well, one day they got separated so Owen and I traveled to Lavender Town to get him back for Sabrina. The gym leader awarded us for reuniting them with my fourth gym badge.

I received the Rainbow Badge from Erika after saving her gym from the Cycling Road biker gang. They robbed the gym of their prized perfume in intentions of selling it for lots of profit. I stopped the leader, Jay, by defeating him in a Pokemon battle. That is where I first met Totodile and beat him with Charmander. A few days later we found Totodile abandoned by his owner Jay on Cycling Road, and added the mistreated Pokemon to our gang.

After searching for the Fuscia Gym for days we finally found it with the company of my worst enemy, Zane Oak. Zane was the first to challenge Koga and the prodigy easily triumphed over the gym leader. The next day I faced off against the poison type trainer and was beaten. Once a couple days of training passed me and Growlithe defeated Koga and earned our sixth badge, the Soul Badge.

Recently, I just won against my grandfather, the gym leader, on Cinnabar Island. This gym also took days to discover and with the help from my grandfather himself, also known as the "Riddle Man", Owen and I found the gym in a volcano. After two tries and Totodile evolving into Croconaw, my Grandpa Blaine lost and we earned the Volcano Badge.

And of course, just yesterday I visited the Viridian City Gym where I found it was owned by the mischievous Team Rocket. I also discovered that Lucien, my past boyfriend, was a member of the abusive squad. After many tear sheds and painful shocks, me and my gang beat the betraying criminal and earned the Earth Badge.

I felt unstoppable. Just after a couple of hours I was over Lucien's betrayal. I was able to concentrate on more important things like my dream to win the Indigo League in order to prove myself as a fantastic fire Pokemon trainer. I want to be beyond fantastic though. I want to be the best there ever was.

Late that night I made it home and of course my mother smothered me with kisses in relief.

The next morning, I sat at the kitchen table chomping on a bagel in content. I flipped through a clothing catalog while doing so. Charmander, Cubone, and Houndoom were all soaking in the sun on the front lawn.

My mom peered over her newspaper and asked, "Hey sweetie, didn't you used to wear a ring on that finger?" my mother tapped my ring finger.

I glanced down at the trinket-less hand and frowned, "Yeah," I mumbled while rubbing the tan line the piece of jewelry made.

My mother put down the article and looked at me in interest, "Did something happen? Do you want to talk about it?"

I chuckled insecurely," No, no mom, I'm fine,"

"Are you sure? Because you don't look fine," my mother eyed me in suspicion, "did that Owen boy give it to you? Oh dear, did you two have a fight before he left!? Honey, when a boy that handsome comes along just do what ever he says,"

"Jeez mom, if you think he's so adorable why don't you just marry him?" I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. "But no, Owen didn't give it to me. We aren't even dating,"

My mother gasped, placing her palm over her mouth, "Kylie honey, I am so sorry. I thought since you two were traveling together and he never stopped gawking at you!"

I sighed, "It's all right. I'm used to it by now. Over the last year A LOT of people assumed the same thing. Man, if I had a buck for every time someone thought Owen and me were together…"

Mom leaned over the table and rested her hands on top of mine, "Then is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" she whispered.

I just chuckled and rolled my eyes once more, "No mom, no,"

Weeks later I was sitting on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons such as Sentret and Furret, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Inspector Gadget. My mother came traipsing in, doing an odd swaying movement with her hands behind her back while puckering her lips. I just ignored her, knowing she'd give me some chore to do, and attempted to look extremely involved in the show.

"Kylie, sweetie honey sugar blossom, the best daughter in the whole wide world," she started, sweetening her voice to guilt me into doing some vacuuming or something of that nature.

I groaned, "Whaaaaaaaat?"

"It's less than two months until the Pokemon League, just five weeks in fact. Don't you think you should start training instead of sitting on your butt watching TV?" she asked with a shrug of the shoulders.

There it was. She wasn't asking much, but it was a colossal nuclear bomb. She planted it with much subtlety but once it went off guilt debris spewed everywhere. She even added in a quantity of time in order to stress me out. Nice touch mom.

"Bu-but I'm not even dressed," I frowned intentionally, glaring down at my pajamas.

"Then go get dressed!" the woman tossed her arms up in the air. "That's it Kylie Scorch. I demand you to get upstairs, put on some fresh clothes, and practice with your Pokemon! You've come this far, so I'm not letting you throw it all away!"

"But I don't even know what to do or where to go," I moaned, sulking towards the stairs.

She tapped her chin, "Hmmm, you can always head up to Mount Hideaway," she suggested.

So, after redressing into jean shorts, a grey T-shirt covered in green stars, and lime green converses, I grabbed a map, my messenger bag, and headed off to Mount Hideaway. I could see the rather small summit in the distance, it was more like a really steep hill. I walked passed the Ketchum household and spotted Ash slumbering on a hammock with Pikachu. I gazed at his gorgeous, young adult body which was sculpted evenly with just the right amount of muscle. Delia was in the backyard gardening and she waved to me with a warm smile, so I waved back.

Finally, by early afternoon, I arrived at the base of the mountain. For the first portion of today's training I sent all of my Pokemon out of their Pokeballs to build up their endurance by running up the mountain. I thought this would be an easy way of increasing their stamina and agility, but I had no idea that running would be this exhausting. Only one-forth the way up the mountain I once called puny, and my six cohorts and I were already cramping.

"Holy cow, when did running get this tiring?" I asked in pant, my shoulders slouching so my palms skidded across the ground.

Rapidash was leading the group up the mountain in our slow jog, followed by Houndoom and Charmander, then Croconaw and I, then Cubone stubbornly trailed behind.

"C'mon Cubone, stop being a slowpoke!" I hollered, back pedaling to see how far behind he was.

The ground type mole swung his bone over his shoulder and held it in place while uncooperatively taking his sweet time. Then, I noticed Growlithe was missing. I began to panic, calling his name and checking behind near by boulders. The others searched for him too but the rascally puppy was no where in sight. Sprinting around searching for the absent dog definitely worked us out some more.

I figured if we got to the top maybe we could look around and spot him somewhere, since the landmark had very few trees and was mostly composed of dirt and rock mounds. The sun was setting by the time we reached the top and there we found Growlithe sitting safe and sound. He sat on the highest peak, panting happily like he did nothing wrong. I stomped over and scolded him for disappearing again, but then immediately hugged him in relief. Growlithe found the most beautiful view. It over looked the vast, empty, grassy land of Pallet Town.

"Well, today was a waste of a day," I sighed. I abruptly stood up straight in determination. "Hey, just because the day is almost over doesn't mean our training has to end! Let's get to it everyone!"

The moon hung high in the sky and the waning, thick crescent shinned vividly. First, Cubone and I practiced manipulating the earth around us. Using rockslide, he created small mounds of rocks for him to practice his aim. After a few knocks on the head from the stubborn Pokemon, Cubone finally and successfully knocked all of the rock piles over with his bonemerang.

After that, Rapidash, Houndoom, Growlithe, and Charmander all worked on their fire attacks. We found an old, dried, dead tree to practice on. Each of them circled the tree then speedily fired their flamethrowers at it. Once that was done, Croconaw strengthened his water gun by putting out the tree which caught fire. Then, I took Croconaw and Houndoom aside so they could perform their dark type moves, such as crunch, bite, and faint attack. Houndoom's faint attack was looking much better and Croconaw's crunch was amazingly powerful.

At the end of the day, to motivate them a bit more, I was going to reward what ever team made it down the mountain first with my dad's famous PokeBlock. They had tasted it before, so each of them got excited. The teams were Houndoom, Charmander, and Cubone against Rapidash, Croconaw, and Growlithe. By midnight everybody had made it back home and to my surprise Rapidash's team won. I guess Cubone was being inflexible again. So, I promised the three eager Pokemon that I'd help my dad make the PokeBlock for them tomorrow, now, I just wanted to rest. We all needed it.


	69. Captured

Chapter 69

I came back from the local bakery with Charmander at my side. It was almost 11 o'clock so my parents were doing their weekend cleaning. My father was sweeping the front steps and my mom was vacuuming the living room. I walked inside, stuffing the last bit of apple fritter in my mouth. My mom immediately turned the vacuum off when she saw me step through the door.

"Honey, Owen called while you were gone," she informed me, a faint smile appearing on her face. "He was wondering if you wanted to visit him,"

My face brightened with delight. Not that I was excited or anything. Frankly, I was actually surprised. Owen wasn't the type to essentially miss people and invite them over, especially me. Maybe he did miss me? Don't get your hopes up, Kylie. Not like I miss him. I don't need him.

"Well, if you're interested I wrote the address on the notepad in the kitchen," my mother winked, then continued her vacuuming.

When she turned her head I immediately dashed into the kitchen, tripping over one of the table chairs then crashing into the phone on the wall, causing it to fall off the receiver. After fumbling with the telephone I finally got it to stay on the hook. I spotted the address on the floral notepad which hung on the wall next to the phone. On the top line read "34 Stone Avenue".

I devised a plan and went over it with my parents that night. First, I was going to leave in a couple days to visit Owen in Pewter City. Then, I was going to head back down to Viridian City and start hiking on Victory Road. Professor Oak had informed me that Victory Road was a challenging trail on the outskirts of Viridian City that led to the Indigo Plateau. It was the only way of getting there and served the purpose of testing each Pokemon trainer to see if they really had what it takes to compete. I heard, if you could make it through Victory Road, than you had the skill to _win_ the Pokemon League.

Two days later, I was all ready to leave for Pewter City. I collected all my necessities and shoved them into my black messenger bag. I wore my favorite, black tank top with a flame on the front and pale, forest green shorts. To switch things up, especially since I was having a good hair day, I wore my hair half up in this weird fashion where I pulled my bangs back and held them in a ponytail holder.

It took me four days and three nights to reach Pewter City. It was nice to revisit the place where my adventure all started. Everything looked the same. The rod iron street lights that had this old colonial style to them sat at the corner of every street. It was mid afternoon so they weren't lit up quite yet. I lingered through town, scanning the roads for the Stone Avenue sign. Finally, I found it. At the corner was a factory with smoke stacks towering over the city. I looked down the street and it was murky and eerie. Litter scattered the deserted road and graffiti covered the brick walls of the buildings. I had a bad feeling about this.

Owen was expecting me so I tip-toed down the street cautiously. I bit my nails nervously as I checked each alleyway for an axe murderer. I sighed in relief each time the passageway was empty. Startlingly, I heard a crash from behind. I spun around clutching one of my Pokeballs on my belt, ready to send them out in order to tackle to killer. Thankfully, it was just a street Meowth. The small, pale fur feline was rather cute. It had a round head with a pink nose and whiskers that went on for miles. I knelt over and hand fed the stray Pokemon some kibbles. The Meowth ran right up to my hand and inhaled the free food. Afterwards, it looked up at me and purred happily.

"You're welcome," I smiled back, patting the cat on the head. "Good luck, lil' fella'," I waved good-bye and continued walking.

Eventually, I found the address which my mother recorded for me. It was a two story, old, abandoned department store. Planks of wood covered the windows and the wooden door was falling off its rusting hinges. I stood in front of the door, the white paint peeling from the splintery wood. I glimpsed into the door's window but it was difficult to see. The inside was completely dark.

I shouldn't suspect anything good will come out of this, but I thought I might as well check the place out. Who knows, maybe this is where Owen and his buddies hang out?

The door opened with a loud creak and I glided my hand against the walls to find a light switch. Finally, I felt one and flipped it on, but right as I did so, the light bulbs shattered and it was pitch dark once again. I sent Charmander out to lend a hand. His fire coated tail lit up our surroundings dimly. There were hard wood floors which had many breaks and holes in them. The walls were a hideous, violet floral wall paper which was now peeling and moldy. The place smelt like feet and rotten eggs.

"Hello? Owen?" I said, my voice amplified from the large room.

No one answered.

"I guess we should leave Charmander. This place doesn't look too safe," I observed in revulsion, practically gagging.

As we turned to leave a metal cage came crashing down from the ceiling. The bottomless cage hit the floor and confined me. Charmander was lucky enough to have not been trapped.

"Charmander, run and go get help," I ordered fretfully.

Charmander nodded frantically and wheeled about to start running, but he was abruptly scooped up into someone's arms.

"At last, I have captured your precious Charmander!" the person snickered. They stepped in the light and the mysterious figure was none other than Lucien.

"Give him back or I'll tear you to shreds!" I threatened, shaking the bars that imprisoned me.

"I'll give him back on one circumstance, you join Team Rocket," Lucien negotiated.

I narrowed my eyes at the boy, "I'll never join your stupid group!"

"Then I guess you're never going to see Charmander again," Lucien shrugged, placing the Pokemon in a cramped, steel cage.

"So, you're the one that called my house," I concluded.

Lucien smirked, "That's right. I knew I could lure you here with an invite from your lover boy,"

I quickly opposed, tossing my head in the other direction, "I don't love him,"

"That's not what you told me the other day!" Lucien sung mockingly.

"I was just emotional and a million thoughts were going through my head. I was saying all sorts of crazy things," I explained hastily.

Lucien waved his hands as he began to pace back and forth, "Sure, sure, whatever you say," he sighed timidly.

"HEEELLLLLP!" I screamed. "HELP! HELP ME! HEEEEEELLLP! I'm TRAPPED BY TEAM ROCK-"

Lucien hurried over and covered my mouth with the palm of his hand, "Will you shut up!?"

"HEEEEEELLLLP!" I shouted some more. Then, I just flat out screamed on top of my lungs. It was shrill and hoarse but I knew anyone close by could hear it. The cry practically deafened Charmander and Lucien.

"You _were_ always one of the loudest girls I've ever met," Lucien groaned, rubbing his ears.

Suddenly, my spirits were brightened when I heard footsteps from the doorway. The stomping grew louder and faster until the person walked into the light. I was never happier to see Owen in my life. It was as if a light shinned down from the heavens and focused on the golden haired boy.

"I heard someone scream. Is everything all right?" he asked in a concerned pant. "Wait, Kylie is that you!?"

"Yeah," I hung my head in shame, imprisoned helplessly by the cage.

"What's going on? Why the hell is Lucien in a Team Rocket uniform?" Owen asked in shock.

Lucien rolled his eyes, "I work for them, you twit,"

"Calling me names now, punk?" Owen questioned angrily, stepping forward and bumping chests with the Team Rocket member.

"Owen, calm down," I told him. "Just get me out of here!"

The boy turned back towards Lucien and asked, "What do you want with her anyway?"

"She'd make a great addition to Team Rocket, especially with her Charmander. You know Owen, you'd make a pretty good member yourself," Lucien considered, scratching his chin.

"Thanks, but I don't plan on getting arrested for theft or animal abuse," Owen turned down, clenching a Pokeball in his hand.

"On the contrary, Team Rocket never gets caught," Lucien fired back, also gripping a Pokeball in his hand.

"Then explain the Cinnabar Island Laboratory. Those guys got arrested," I reminded him.

"And you're about to join them," Owen said wiggling his eye brows.

"You wish! Go Electrode!" Lucien cried as he hurled the Pokeball between the two of them.

The spherical electric type Pokemon emerged from the red light. It wobbled back and forth with tiny bolts flickering from its body.

Owen sent out his prized Hitmonlee and I knew immediately that Owen was going to win this match.

First I warned him, "Be careful Owen, last time I battled Lucien's Electrode it exploded and caused massive amounts of damage,"

"We won't even break a sweat taking down this imposter," Owen assured me, waving his hand at me carelessly.

"Electrode, use thunder bolt," Lucien ordered.

Jolts of blinding, neon yellow electricity crackled from Electrode without it even having to charge. Hitmonlee shook as the lightening coursed through its body.

"Hitmonlee, use hi jump kick," Owen instructed.

Hitmonlee jumped into the air and swung its leg across swiftly. Electrode cringed and wobbled slightly from the attack but wasn't affected very much.

"You're going to have to better than that, Owen," Lucien advised, smirking deviously.

"Now, kick 'em up the air," Owen told his Pokemon swiftly. Hitmonlee swung his leg underneath Electrode and with a flick of the toes Electrode went up into the air, almost crashing into the ceiling. "Quick, brick break!"

"Thunder, Electrode!" Lucien exclaimed, attempting to keep up.

While in the air, Hitmonlee's right foot began to glow white. Electrode gathered energy as threads of electricity lashed from its body. Finally, Hitmonlee punted the electric type Pokemon as Electrode sent a wave of thunder coursing through Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee collapsed to the ground and Electrode fell with a loud thud, shaking the entire building. Owen's Pokemon got feebly back on his legs and Electrode managed to stay focused but cringed slightly.

"Alright Electrode, finish things off with explosion!" Lucien demanded in a shout.

"No!" Owen and I cried, knowing the outcome could be dangerous.

With this many people around, we could all get caught in the blast, but it was too late. Electrode had already started the process. The Pokemon flashed an ashen glow. Beams of blinding white and gold sprouted from the round Pokemon before an ear shattering shriek echoed through out the city.

"OWEN, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I yelled, banging my fists against the bars.

Owen rushed over to look for a door to open on the cage, but there was none. I was trapped and Lucien had gotten away. Charmander was no where in sight and Electrode was just about to erupt into flames.

"Owen, get out of here!" I shouted through the rumbling.

"I'm not leaving you here alone," he refused.

Finally, another blaring boom sounded off and flames absorbed the building we were in. The force from the explosion heaved me backwards, slamming me into the back of the cage and smashing my spine. I slouched onto the floor, holding my aching, stinging back in tremendous pain. I spotted Owen sprawled out just feet away from me.

I was in luck, the explosion melted the metal bars and created a gaping hole for me to escape through. I climbed out and ran over to Owen, slapping his face gently to wake him up.

"Owen c'mon, get up!" I shouted in his ear.

His eyes opened and he groaned, leaning on his forearm to stand up.

"Where's your Charmander?" he asked, holding his head.

I looked around at the empty room sorrowfully, "I'm not sure… but we have to get out of here,"

Owen and I limped out of the burning building then collapsed on the sidewalk, still aching from the immense blast.

I noticed a cut on Owen's arm which was dripping with rivers of blood, "Owen, you're bleeding," I pointed to the gash.

He winced, lifting his sleeve in order to get a better look, "You're right. Ouch, I think a piece of metal scrapped me or something,"

"Let's get you home and clean you up," I suggested, getting back on my feet.

"What about Charmander?" Owen asked.

I looked down as tears appeared in the corner of my eyes, "I'm afraid… he's gone. Lucien took him. And it's all my fault," I wept softly.

Owen stood up and patted my shoulder, "I'm sorry, Kylie,"

"If I had never fallen for Lucien's phony personality none of this mess would've ever happened," I wiped the tears from my cheeks and smiled halfheartedly, "anyway, let's get going."

Owen led the way while holding his arm, trying to keep it from bleeding anymore. We walked silently on the sidewalk and alls I could think about was whether Charmander was alright or not. Where is he? Did Lucien have him? Or did he get out safely? If Lucien did have him, what would he do to Charmander? Owen could tell I was distracted.

"Don't worry about it. We'll find the little dude eventually," Owen tried cheering me up.

"You can say the words but I know it's not true," I sighed, hanging my head in depression.

Suddenly, we heard a clang of garbage cans in an alley. Stumbling out of the darkness was Charmander being assisted by Larvitar, the pale green reptile that used to follow Owen constantly. Charmander was covered in scratches but none looked serious. I sprinted over and scooped him into my arms. I squeezed the lizard-like Pokemon as tightly as I could, without suffocating him of course. He rested his chin on my shoulder and I couldn't help but cry and smile.

"Thank god you're okay," I sniffled happily.

"_Char- Char_," he replied cheerfully.

I placed him back on the ground but Charmander just wrapped himself around my leg, nuzzling against my knee. Larvitar slowly and nervously walked up to Owen. Owen just glared down at the stalker as it sniffed his shoes.

"We haven't seen you in a while, Larvitar," I noted, watching Owen's expressions.

"In case you forgot, I'm kind of bleeding profusely," Owen reminded me irritably, shaking his wounded arm.

"Right,"

So, Owen started to guide us to his house again, and Larvitar followed not too far behind.


	70. Prom Night

**Previously on PSJ…**

Kylie flipped the watch over in her hand and rubbed her thumb against the smooth back. Kylie then spotted small letters engraved on its back and read them out loud, "915?"

"Probably just the product number or something," Penny shrugged.

"915! 915!" a raspy voice shouted.

Kylie and Penny turned to see an old man sitting on a rocking chair in the corner of the store. His wrinkles drooped down his face and his old ratty clothes draped over the sides of the creaking chair. He stared out the window with a blank stare as he began to rock back and forth.

"Do you know what it means?" Penny asked the old man.

"The place of principle will have its darkest of nights! The journey will end but the love will continue!" the man shouted with a shaky voice.

Chapter 70

Owen brought us to his house. He lived above his grandfather's gym, so it was a two story, white, boxy building. Two, long bay windows were on each side of the automatic doors which led into the first floor. The gym opened up into a room filled with bike machines and treadmills, there was also a desk in the far corner with a computer on it. On the wall that faced you as you walked in was a large, white sign that said "Fitness Hall" then the costs for memberships.

There were two more rooms that branched off of this one but Owen walked towards the staircase. At the top there was a cramped hallway with a single, maroon door. Owen placed a key inside the lock and pushed the door open. We entered the living room which was spacious and elegantly decorated with many knick-knacks of the Chinese culture. Above the flat screen TV was an elongated painting of a cherry blossom tree. The coffee table and end tables matched, with that black and white checkerboard structure. The black, leather couch sat in the center of the room and just feet behind that was a double window which let in a lot of sunlight.

Next was the kitchen which had a Spanish décor. The walls were orange with a spongy texture and the back splash behind the green granite counters were bright orange and blue. The cupboards were a dark russet stain and they had all stainless steel appliances. The kitchen table sat for two people and was a simple wooden set that matched the cupboards. Between the kitchen and living room were the bathroom and a mini hallway connecting the two major areas. Within the short hallway there were two doorways beside one another, which I assumed were the bedrooms.

Owen immediately went into the bathroom and got paper towels to soak up the blood. I just stood around starring at the nice home he and his grandfather lived in.

Mr. Boxer locked up the gym and came home that night, which is conveniently just upstairs. Owen showed him his wound and he cleaned it up and stitched it closed himself. I didn't stick around to watch this painful and disgusting process. That night Mr. Boxer gave me plenty of blankets and pillows for me to sleep on their couch, which was actually really plush and comfy.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you, Mr. Boxer," I expressed appreciation the next morning.

I sat at the kitchen table across from Owen as Mr. Boxer entered the room with that morning's mail in his hands.

"It's no problem at all, Kylie," he assured me, shuffling the envelopes in his hands. "Owen, there's a flyer from your school in here," Mr. Boxer informed him as he handed Owen the neon green leaflet.

Owen groaned loathingly before carelessly accepting the paper.

"What's it for?" I asked curious.

Owen's eyes scanned the page before sticking out his tongue in disgust, "Just my stupid school reminding me to 'dance my way to junior prom'!" Owen mocked in a girly voice, sarcastically acting enthusiastic about it.

"I didn't even know you went to school," I admitted.

Mr. Boxer walked over to the table and filled me in, "With your parent or guardians' permission students are allowed to miss their junior year so they can go on a Pokemon journey,"

"This thing can go in the trash," Owen said as he crumbled up the piece of paper.

"Well I think everyone should go to their Junior Prom, it's a once in a lifetime event," I attempted to convince the boy.

Owen rolled his eyes, "Listen, dances are for people who have nothing better to do than rally up, dance to crappy music, and air hump strangers,"

"Kylie's right son, your Junior Prom is something you'll remember for the rest of your life," Mr. Boxer added in.

Owen quickly asked, "Do you remember who your date was at _your_ Junior Prom?"

Mr. Boxer tapped his chin and thought for a moment, "Meh, I don't remember. But that's not important. What's important is seeing all your friends one last time before the year is over," the elderly man told him.

"Yeah, I guess so," Owen shrugged. "But I don't have a date,"

"What about Amber?" I questioned.

"She's in Lavender Town exploring the Rock Tunnel for stones or unicorns or something," Owen reminded me, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, sighing heavily.

I thought for a second then brainstormed, "Hey, why don't I go with you? Just as friends of course," I insisted.

Mr. Boxer placed his hand on Owen's shoulder, "I think that's a great idea,"

Owen sunk in his chair disapprovingly, but gave in, "Fiiiiine," he exhaled.

The prom was in just three days so the next morning Owen modeled his fanciest outfit. He walked out of his bedroom with a white dress shirt, black jeans, and sneakers. Mr. Boxer and I both immediately agreed that Owen needed to rent a tux. So that day Owen and his grandfather went shopping for a suitable, modern tuxedo while I went dress shopping.

I found this cute, cheerful cobalt spaghetti strapped dress. It was knee length and tied at the waist with a black ribbon. Next, I found perfect, black flats to match and a black, knitted cardigan to cover my shoulders.

Finally, it was prom night and I was actually excited yet nervous since I was going to be meeting all of Owen's friends. I applied some make up before putting on my dress. I waved my hair then tied it up in a loose bun with some bobby pins. I let two, small clusters of my dark brown hair dangle beside my cheek bones. I looked pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I walked out of the bathroom to see Owen and Mr. Boxer standing in the living room. Mr. Boxer was helping Owen put on his tie, but once he turned around I was amazed. His normally messy hair was combed nicely and he had new stud in his pierced ear. Owen wore a black, slimming tux with an aqua tie which matched my dress almost perfectly. In his little chest pocket was an identical aqua hanky folded perfectly, most likely done by his granddad. Both of our jaws dropped at the sight of each other.

"Whoa Owen, you look… great," I complimented in shock, my cheeks burning red.

"You don't look half bad yourself, Scorch," Owen flattered back. "Oh, and I got you this corsage thing. I guess it's like custom or something," Owen shrugged before removing the flower from the plastic box. It was a single rose surrounded by baby's breath and other pink and green pedals. The boy slid it over my wrist and I thanked him for the kind gift.

"Well, you two love birds better be heading off," Mr. Boxer rushed us, glimpsing at his wrist watch.

Owen and I quickly protested, "We're not love birds!"

"Sorry, sorry," Mr. Boxer's eyes dilated from the sudden shouting. "Can I just get a quick picture of the two of you?"

Owen groaned, cocking his head backward in indolence.

We stood beside each other, smiling like manic idiots while the elderly man shook the camera, unable to figure out how to make it work.

"It's the button on the top, Gramps!" Owen shouted impatiently through his fake smile.

Mr. Boxer grunted in frustration, "They just can't make electronics simple these days. When I was your age…"

The flash went off before Owen's grandpa could drag us into a dreadfully boring anecdote, so Owen and I zoomed downstairs and hustled to the school. We arrived at the two story high school which was built in the shape of a donut, a courtyard in the center. The hallways were narrow but the lockers look like they were just freshly painted navy blue. The two metal doors which led to the gym were opened and we peered inside the rather large gymnasium. Loud rap music echoed through out the room while blue and white streamers spun from the ceiling. Banners hung all over the walls and half of the kids wore glow sticks around their necks.

On one end of the room were the snack tables covered in chips, cookies, and cups of generic soda. On the other end was the DJ set up with his CDs and massive speakers. Teenagers covered the floor and unattractively grinded each other as the censored rap song made the floor shake. Now I understood why Owen wasn't look forward to this.

"So this is why you hate dances so much," I joked, attempting to shout over the deafening music.

"What?" Owen yelled back.

A group of boys wearing blue and white, leather, varsity jackets walked up to Owen and each of them greeted him with a high five.

"Dude, we missed having you on the team this year, man," one said sadly.

Another decided it was appropriate to try and hit on me. I just shoved him away.

A third dim witted soul asked, "So where were you this year?"

They talked for about a minute longer then dispersed. Next, a group of girls huddling close to one another while giggling came and waved hi. After that, some more jocks gave Owen a few high fives and chest bumps. At least three-fourths of the kids in that gym had welcomed Owen, or so it seemed.

"Jeez, when were you going to tell me you were so popular?" I kidded.

A boy wearing a navy sports jacket and dress pants sauntered towards us. He had an even more ridiculous grin than Owen and I did before while taking pictures. He was at least six feet tall and really slender. The boy's face was long and so was his nose. He had bright blue eyes which lit up his pale skin.

"Hey, there he is!" Owen hollered in excitement, greeting the teenager with a high five followed by a complicated mixture of a hug and a chest bump.

"It's the O-Meister!" he bellowed back, pointing to his friend happily. "Listen man, we really could've used your catching skills this year. We needed all your skills," the boy joked.

"Baseball didn't do too good?" Owen assumed.

"Horrible. We won three games out of twenty-two," he sighed.

"Wow, you guys really did suck," Owen laughed. "Oh Joel, this is Kylie,"

"Well, how do you do?" Joel asked, scanning me up and down. "Where'd you get this lovely lady?" he whispered to Owen.

Owen smiled at his friend, "We've actually been traveling together for a while now. Well, we used to anyway. She's just up to visit,"

"Who knew I'd get wrapped up into this mess?" I kidded, but no one else laughed.

"So anyway man, good luck on winning Prom King," Joel inclined sarcastically.

Owen shook his head, oblivious and surprised, "Wait, what?"

Joel glared at him sincerely, "Yeah, I saw the nominations and you were on the list,"

"Who the heck would nominate me?" Owen asked somewhat angry.

The three of us heard someone from behind us clear their throat loudly and intentionally. We wheeled around to see some blonde haired chick. She wore a skimpy, scarlet cocktail dress with matching open toed pumps. Golden, curled locks trailed down her back and sparkling, cherry lip gloss polished her lips. Owen and Joel both had their mouths wide open and gawked at her beauty.

"Hey Owen, you got a little drool hanging from your chin," I ridiculed.

"Hello Owen," she greeted, smiling faintly. Her voice was soft and extremely feminine.

"Hey there, Felicia," Owen waved at her awkwardly, starring back and forth from me to her.

She smiled wider once hearing the boy speak. "My have you grown," she commented.

"Well, it's only been a year since we last saw each other," he reminded her.

"Whose your friend?" I rudely interrupted, crossing my arms intolerantly.

"Oh right, Kylie this is Felicia… my um-" Owen started, stammering nervously.

Felicia put her hand out, "I'm Owen's ex-girlfriend," she gladly informed me.

I chuckled, secretly growing furious on the inside, "Oh, of course you are," then I muttered, "I'm sure you're a lot of guy's ex-girlfriends,"

"Anyhow, Owen, I'm the one that nominated you," Felicia confessed.

"Why?" he promptly replied.

She shrugged, strutting over next to him, "I just thought if we both won… maybe it'd be some sort of sign," Felicia flirted, stroking the boy's chest.

Owen looked at me then slipped away from her grip, "Whoa, I already told you that we were over a long time ago!"

"I just care about you," Felicia pouted.

"I'm sure she's 'cared' about a lot of guys," I whispered to Joel, he covered his mouth to keep from laughing. "If you know what I'm saying,"

"Yeah, I bet she's 'nominated' tons of guys too," he murmured back, we both shared a laugh. Owen glared at us angrily.

All of a sudden, a loud drumming and static echoed from the speakers set up all over the room. Everyone turned to see where the painful noise was coming from. A man was clutching a microphone while standing in front of the DJ's table. He was wearing an old blazer he must've worn in the army and khakis. His hair was graying and only grew on the sides. The elderly man pushed his glasses back on his nose before speaking into the microphone.

"Hello juniors and those delinquents who are too young or old to be datin' juniors. In fact, you're all too young to be datin'," he muffled.

"YOU SUCK, OLD MAN!" a boy shouted. The crowd laughed.

"Hey, I'll hunt ch'ya down and give ya'll detention!" the senile man threatened. "Anyway, this is your principle Mr. Gibson speaking. I am here to announce the Prom King and Queen of dis evenin',"

The shaky gentleman fumbled with the envelope and had difficulty retrieving the slit of paper from inside. Finally, after many more students shouting insults at the guy, Mr. Gibson held the paper steadily and hovered back over the microphone.

"So, uhhh dis year's Prom Queen es… Felicia Farmer!" Mr. Gibson grouchily announced.

That didn't stop Felicia from celebrating. She danced her way up to the principle as people cheered and clapped for her "fabulous" achievement. Felicia arrived before him and bent forward as the short gentleman placed a fake, plastic tiara on her head. A smile ear to ear persisted on her face and it almost looked like she was about to cry.

"And now dis year's Prom King es… Owen Boxer!" Mr. Gibson declared.

The room erupted into cheering. Jocks chanted "Woot! Woot!" as girls who wished they could even be within four feet of Owen screamed on top of their lungs. A group of guys started banging their fists on the bleachers but soon got yelled at by a teacher chaperone.

Owen knelt down so the man could place a bogus, cheap crown on his head, but the entire time Owen didn't smile or look a bit happy. He and I just locked glares until Felicia linked arms with him then tugged him to the center of the room. Slow music began to play and everyone huddled around them to watch the annual Prom King and Queen dance. I stood there awkwardly and a sudden wave of rage coursed through me. I tried to shake my head in order to eradicate these emotions but I couldn't help but feel oddly angry.

_Maybe I need some fresh air_, I thought to myself.

I burst out of the doors and found a stone wall bordering the school to sit on. The sky was lightless, just covered in eerie, murky clouds and not a single beam of moonlight making its way down to the earth. A chilly breeze blew passed and I could hear faint howls in the distance, probably a Houndour calling to its pack.

I noticed an old colonial clock at the peak of the school's roof. The face was white and the black, rod iron hands were sculpted elegantly. The clock currently read 9:00. I looked aside to see Owen slowly and cautiously stroll out of the building. He spotted me sitting there and a look of concern appeared on his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked me, sitting down beside me.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm fine,"

"You don't sound fine," Owen pointed out.

"Shouldn't you be dancing with your precious girlfriend?" I inquired tenaciously.

Owen groaned in annoyance, "I assure you there is nothing going on between us. Why do you care anyway?" Owen looked at me in suspicion.

"I don't," I scowled, crossing my arms stubbornly.

"Listen, Kylie," Owen placed his hand on my knee. "You don't have to be jealous over me and any other girl out there,"

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, lifting his hand and removing it from my kneecap.

"Because…" Owen started distantly. He fiddled his thumbs on his lap, his face twisting and turning as he contemplated. He inhaled intensely before staring at me conflicted. "Because I care about you,"

I smiled, slapping him gently on the back, "I care about you too,"

Owen pinched the bridge of his nose, "I mean, I care about you more than any other person I know,"

"What are you implying?" I questioned quietly, my heart pounding with anticipation. I checked the clock to see it was 9:15.

I glanced back at Owen and this twinkle of innocence and sincerity glistened in his eyes. Our eyes locked on one another longingly and suddenly… "I love you, Kylie," Owen confessed.

It was as if the air was sucked out of me and a witch of some sort cast a spell on me so I could never speak again. No words could form between my lips. I was literally speechless. I looked into his vibrant, glossy blue eyes and had to search deep within myself. I had to ask myself, do I love him back? I was so shocked and confused I promptly shied away from telling him the truth.

I glanced down at the ground in sorrow, "What do you want me to say to that?"

He didn't reply, and I was too ashamed to look him in the eyes.

"I mean that whole thing with Lucien just happened, and I…" I began to explain dolefully.

"Are you seriously telling me you're not over him?" Owen asked in disbelief and frustration.

"I just-" I said, tears drawing to the corners of my eyes.

"No," Owen abruptly interrupted. "I don't need to hear anymore of your excuses,"

I finally gained the courage to say it back, but it was too late. Owen began to turn his back, and it did not look like he wanted to hear anything I had to say.

"Owen, wait!" I called out to him.

"Whatever, have a nice life," Owen shook his head and walked away.

Those were the last words Owen ever said to me before he disappeared into the night fog. A single tear slid down my cheek, and I stood there all alone.


	71. Malevolent Mismagius

Chapter 71

Chapter 71

When I went back to his house Owen had vanished. The next morning I asked Mr. Boxer if he knew where he went and the old man informed me that he went to the Hoenn region. At first I was puzzled, but Mr. Boxer reminded me that Owen had the Hoenn Pokemon Fighting Tournament to compete in soon. The elderly gym owner also informed me that Owen disembarked with Amber. I wasn't too enthused about that.

When Mr. Boxer headed downstairs to open up his exercising business for the day, I snuck into Owen's bedroom. It was decorated as any normal teenage boy's room. A few posters of fighting champion Pokemon stuck to the dark blue walls while the bed sat in one corner and the dresser across from that.

I spotted a family photo sitting on his bureau. Owen was young with some baby fat still around his face and belly. Next to him sat two young adults. The woman was energetic and smiley as she waved to the camera. Owen must've gotten his yellow locks from his mother. Her golden hair was tied in a braid and she wore a floral dress shirt with brown slacks. The woman looked like she just got home from work.

The man had a pointed chin with a firm jaw line and light brown hair. His face was sculpted just like Owen's and it was easy to notice the resemblance. He wore a black muscle tee revealing two arm tattoos. That's definitely Owen's edgy side right there. The gentleman held an infant in his arms which was wrapped in a blanket.

The family gathered in the living room, looking like they were simply watching TV and someone decided to take a picture. It was a nice photo. I rubbed the dust off the top of the picture frame and placed it back down, feeling awful about the tragedy.

Then, I noticed a sparkling item also sitting on the dresser. It was the wristwatch I gave Owen for Christmas. On top of it was a small, yellow post-it note that said "Kylie". I peeled it off and clutched the timepiece in my hands. I flipped it over and rubbed the smooth back while reading the engraving. "915" it read.

"I'm sorry, Owen," I murmured sadly.

I said good-bye to Mr. Boxer and headed for Viridian City. I made it to the city by mid afternoon and spotted the trail that led to Victory Road. It was crowded by forest and bushes, with a large, russet rock blocking its visibility. Numerous town houses cluttered the other side of the metropolitan along with the Pokemon Center, PokeMart, and Team Rocket's Gym up northward. I walked up to the rock and slouched down beside it. I glided my hand against its rough surface then buried my face into my arms. I couldn't stop thinking about Owen.

"God, I wish I never even met him," I said to myself. _Then I wouldn't be in this much pain, _I thought.

Suddenly, I heard high-pitched chanting followed by a wicked laugh. Soon, I found myself shrouded by white, fluffy clouds you would imagine in heaven. Then my dream got even weirder when a plum cloaked apparition materialized before me. The creature wore a flimsy, deteriorating witch hat and a ruby encrusted belt wrapped around its slender abdomen.

"Who are you? Where are we? What's going on?" I interrogated.

The mysterious creature laughed shrilly and its voice was shaky, "So quick to ask questions,"

"You're a Mismagius aren't you?" I realized, pulling out my Pokedex.

_Mismagius chants incantations. Those hearing it are tormented by headaches and hallucinations, while some chants bring happiness._

"Very good, youngling," it smiled pleased. "I heard your wish and I am here to show you the outcome,"

"What wish? Wait, when I said I wish I had never met Owen?" I asked. "No, no, no, I didn't really m-"

"I will show you what your journey and life would've been like if you had never met Owen that one day on the way to Cerulean City," Mismagius explained.

"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice," I pointed out, staring down at the cloud I mysteriously hovered above.

"Then follow me, youngling," Mismagius smiled.

All of the sudden, the clouds evaporated and I was floating above Viridian City along side Mismagius. She guided me to the patch of woods on the outskirts of Pewter City. We landed weightlessly and safely on the earth. There was a younger form of myself walking happily.

"Here is where you met the fortune teller and won against her," Mismagius enlightened me on the projection. "But instead of doing so, you decline her offer and continue on without battling her or getting your fortune told,"

"Can they see us?" I asked.

"Don't worry, none of them know we're here,"

The fortune teller walked up to me holding her diamond covered Pokeball which contained her Jynx. She asked me for a Pokemon battle and if she won I would have to give her forty bucks, but if I won she would read my fortune. The image of me didn't want to bargain that much money so she continued walking.

Time sped up and Mismagius and I still stood there as day and night passed. Critters speedily crawled by and different trainers passed through the woods rapidly. The fortune teller still stood there through all of this and time slowed back to normal on the next day. Surprisingly, Owen came strutting down the path and the fortune teller asked him for a Pokemon battle. Once again, if she won he would have to give her forty bucks and if she lost he would get his fortune read for free.

"So what do you say, young man?" the fortune teller asked.

Owen shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, why not?"

As the battle was underway Mismagius enlightened me on the situation, "You see, since you never battled the fortune teller she stuck around until someone else did, and since Owen battled her, it delayed him from ever reaching the same spot as you, thus never meeting you there,"

Owen eventually won the battle with his Hitmonlee and the psychic set up her card table. After lots of card shuffling and long silences of concentration, the fortune teller finally told Owen about his future.

"Son, I think you will be quite pleased," she smiled. "After numerous challenges you will win a major competition,"

Owen's face lit up, "You mean I'm going to win the KPFT?!"

Mismagius took me to the scene of my Cerulean City battle against Misty. We arrived just in time to see me… lose?! Butterfree was blasted by Starmi's water gun and plunged to the floor. I exited the gym with my head hanging in disappointment.

"What happened? I won the Cascade Badge on my first try!" I shouted in confusion.

"Since you had never met Owen, he never gave you the push or drive you needed to prove yourself as a worthy trainer," Mismagius explained.

After four more attempts at winning the Cascade Badge from Misty, I had finally earned it. Although each battle was much better than the last, it hurt to see my Pokemon fail and fail again while I sat on the sidelines being a lousy trainer.

The next scene showed Owen arriving in Vermillion City for the KPFT. He looked smug and pompous like usual. Next, he was challenged by none other than Penny. The two battled and talked afterwards. Penny informed him that she was entering the Pokemon League and Owen told her that he was competing in the KPFT. Penny stuck around to watch the tournament and Owen spent all of his time trying to impress her rather than training.

"This is disgusting. Don't tell me Owen and Penny…" I gulped before hissing, "_Like_ each other,"

"Indeed they do. Owen never meets Amber because you were never there for her to battle. Penny and Owen happen to arrive in town on the same day and take a liking to one another. Owen even ends up losing the tournament to Lt. Surge," Mismagius told me.

"But I thought the fortune teller told him that he was going to win a major competition?" I asked.

Mismagius shook her head, "She never said he was going to win the KPFT, and since Owen went into it thinking he was going to win, he never practiced and spent all of his time with Perennial,"

"Owen would never like a materialistic, blabber mouth like Penny though," I detested.

"Destiny is a funny thing," Mismagius replied.

Imaginary Penny walked up to fake Owen after he had just lost the match, "I'm sorry you lost, Owen,"

"It's no big deal," he sighed.

Penny smiled, "I think I know something that'll make you feel better,"

The teenager lifted his head and pressed her lips against his. The two wrapped their arms around each other and started intimately kissing. Mismagius handed me a brown paper bag which I gladly used to barf in.

We reached the next milestone which showed me losing to Zane in the Gallade City festival. Mismagius continued to explain that Lt. Surge was too busy being showered in glory from winning the KPFT to battle me. So, he just gave me the badge with no strings attached. Being the miserable, no-talent trainer I was, I shamelessly accepted it.

Owen and Penny continued to travel together and Penny earned the Marsh Badge with no problem. When it was my turn, I was quickly beaten by Sabrina's wrath. Sabrina remained heartless since Owen and I never went to get her Haunter back. I decided to skip that gym and go on for the next.

One good thing was, I still ended up meeting Jackson, so that made me a little happier. This time, I didn't punch him in the face and I was still able to help him with his Pokemon repel problem. I also helped renew Jackson's love for Pokemon so he decided to follow me to the Celadon Gym. Surprise, surprise, I lost once again.

"After losing yet again, you finally decide to quit being a Pokemon trainer," Mismagius sadly informed me.

"What?!" I yelped in shock. "But it's always been my dream to be the best fire Pokemon trainer there is,"

"See, with Owen at your side you were able to get as far as you've come," Mismagius explained. "Owen helped you grow, not only as a trainer but as a person as well,"

I murmured, getting intolerant and impatient with this dream, "What a load of crap,"

The next vision was of me arriving home in Pallet with only three badges instead of the necessary eight. My mother and father looked at me somberly after hearing the disappointing news. My dad was speechless but my mom on the other hand wouldn't stop yapping about work ethic and never giving up.

After that depressing reverie, the next showed Owen winning the P-1 Grand Pre. Cameras flashed and Penny lingered at his side. Later, Owen gave Penny a promise ring and they proceeded by making out again.

"God, this is too repulsive and painful to watch," I groaned, covering my face.

"So, you finally admit that you are aching without Owen?" Mismagius raised a brow keenly.

I glared through the cracks in between my fingers, "I'm doing just fine,"

"Well, let's see if you're 'doing just fine' when I tell you that you live with your parents until you're 38. Then, you finally move to Goldenrod City in Johto and work as a cashier at the local Laundromat. One faithful day your crusty, grey manager asks you out. Eventually, the two of you get married and live grumpily through your golden years," Mismagius foretold. "How does that make you feel?"

"Well, you know what that Kylie has going for her? She never had to look the guy she loves in the face and directly lie to him about how she feels. She never had to go through all of that emotion and pain," I seethed coldly.

"It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all," Mismagius replied melodically. "But if you really feel that way, I can make this a reality. I can make it so everything you've seen today is really how it took place. You and Owen would've never met and you won't feel a thing,"

"Reali-tize away, oh ghostly one!" I demanded, waving my arms about.

"Be forewarned, what I am about to do will make you lose all your memories of Owen," Mismagius notified cautiously.

I sighed heavily, "Alright, let's do this," I nodded, clapping my hands together and rubbing them vigorously, preparing myself for the reality warp.

A cloud of purple dust and smog appeared out of no where and surrounded me. Before long, images of Owen and me first meeting, arguing, laughing, hugging, and such were being projected into my mind. Pictures of us almost holding hands at the P-1 Grand Pre, teasing one another about our old crushes on Amber and Lucien, hugging at the end of my driveway, Owen resting his head on my shoulder when he revealed the truth about his family's death, the two of us fighting over Poliwag's egg, and more flashed before my eyes.

"STOP! STOP!" I shouted frantically. "You were right! You were right! Just… please, let me keep the memories," I begged.

The snapshots impeded and as I looked around for Mismagius, I found myself sitting against the rock in Viridian City once again. I exhaled in relief when I realized it was just an uncanny, wretched dream. The daydream definitely took a toll on me. I sat there and wondered if Owen had gotten over me, even though I wasn't over him.

**A/N: I finally updated everyone! Sorry it took so long, but my life currently revolves around volleyball practice and homework, which sucks by the way. For those of you that have seen That '70s Show (one of the best shows EVER!) I got the idea for this chapter from one of the episodes, so I'm hoping this didn't confuse anyone. Anyway, please review! Stay tuned and stay awesome! :D**


	72. Victory Road

Chapter 73

Chapter 72

**A/N: This chapter will be written in third person for the sake of the plot**

Penny spotted Kylie after she just experienced her mysterious daydream. The two caught up but Kylie refrained from telling her friend about what had just happened between her and Owen yesterday. Kylie was still feeling empty and heartbroken yet she kept a faint smile on her face.

After Penny finished blabbing on and on about her adventures and useless information such as what she was wearing the other day, Penny informed her good friend Kylie that there was a cute clerk in the local PokeMart, so, the two decided to go discover if this rumor was true. Kylie thought it might get her mind off of yesterday's happenings.

They arrived at the drug store and sauntered casually through the few aisles. The duo poked their heads around the spinning carrousel covered in sunglasses to check out the cashier. He was cute alright, tall, tan, skinny yet muscular, and captivating hazel eyes which seemed hypnotic. He had a handsomely good amount of stubble on his chin and looked to be around the age of eight-teen.

Penny quickly snatched a pair of sunglasses from the rack and dashed over to the counter, shoving an elderly man aside. The girl slammed the frames to the table before resting her chin on her palm and smiling like an incompetent banshee. The good looking cashier slowly glanced down at the pair of sunglasses then looked at Penny with a strange grin. Penny ogled down to inspect what she had placed on the counter, and it was a pair of hideous, neon pink sunglasses with bumblebees and butterflies glued to the edge of the frames. Kylie stood beside her, cackling at the scene.

"That'll be 3.72," he said, putting his hand out for the money.

"So uh, what's a hot guy like you doing in a mangy, old place like this?" Penny flirted and proceeded by winking numerous times at the boy.

The boy's eyes widened at the teenage girl's outrageous behavior, "Paying for college," he answered.

"What do you say you and me- WHOA!" Penny suddenly shouted as Kylie tugged her away.

The girl whispered through her gritted teeth, "Penny, that guy is like four years older than us,"

Penny raised a brow, "Your point?" she asked.

Kylie shook her head while chuckling in pity, "You are such a whore,"

Penny raced back over and attempted to compliment the older teenage boy some more, but he quickly interrupted her intolerantly, "Listen, if you're a Pokemon trainer just visit the city's elder on the outskirts of town... now, pay or leave, you're pissing off the other customers in line,"

So, Kylie dragged her dream-big friend out of the shop and to the forest on the outskirts of town. The sun was beginning to set and the two only had two weeks to reach the Indigo Plateau before the competition commenced. Kylie wasn't sure what this village elder had to offer. Although, that cashier seemed to have tipped off a lot of trainers about this elder, so this wise person must have some important information to proffer.

Penny bit her nails nervously as they walked through the eerie woods. Penny stumbled over roots of trees as she darted in circles, turning her head in all directions frightfully.

"I don't know, Kylie. There's something weird about this place and I don't like it," Penny stammered, her voice shaking.

Suddenly, the two spotted a glimmer of light up ahead. Kylie, suspecting it was the informative senior, started to jog towards the flickering, yellow light. Penny grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?!" Penny shouted in a whisper.

"That's probably the elder up ahead. It's obvious they know something critical so we have to go see who it is," Kylie replied calmly.

Penny gulped and the two advanced quietly, tip-toeing their way towards the light. They weaved through the trees and climbed over fallen logs before reaching the glimmering light which was just behind them.

"Okay, they must be right behind this tree," Kylie confirmed.

Penny quivered worriedly, "What if it's some killer or a massive, man-eating Caterpie?"

"Stop being such a baby," Kylie rolled her eyes.

Finally, Kylie stepped from around the tree and grabbed the person's shoulder. The individual spun around and began screaming at the sight of the strangers. The lantern plummeted the ground and shattered, the candle's light perished. All three of them started screaming, afraid that the opposite person was going to hurt them. The Rattata perched on the person's shoulder hissed aggressively at Penny and Kylie. Soon, each of them stopped only to realize it was actually their friend.

"Jackson, I can't believe it's you!" Kylie exclaimed in relief.

"Kylie? Penny?" Jackson panted, before placing his hand over his chest. "Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me,"

"What are you doing out here?" Kylie asked.

Jackson explained, "I was looking for the trial to the Indigo Plateau. I figured I'd meet you guys there and see your matches. What are _you _doing out here?"

"We're looking for some old dude," Penny told him, rubbing her goose bump covered arms.

The night chill settled in and fog blanketed the wooded area. Ominous cooing from Hoothoot echoed through out the forest and the scratching of leaves came from every which way. A slender sliver of the moon hung in the sky, making the journey through the woodland a difficult one since it shed a smaller amount of luminosity.

After more wandering, the trio heard the crackling of a fire close by. They cautiously walked towards the sound of snapping kindling and spotted the shimmering of a fire. There was a small, cleared area of brush and trees and in the center was the blazing campfire. A wrinkled woman draped in rags with frizzy, white hair half pulled up in a snarl infested bun sat on a log near the fire.

"Hello, children," she greeted warmly, her voice hoarse yet sweet.

"Are you the Viridian City elder?" Kylie asked.

Her happy expression turned sour, "I'm not that old," she objected. "Oh okay, I'm old," the woman shrugged.

"We heard you know some valuable information for Pokemon trainers," Penny mentioned.

"If you three are planning on heading up to Victory Road, then yes I do," she replied, rubbing her shriveled, skeletal hands together.

The three teenagers sat on a log across from the old woman and listened intently.

"Victory Road is a ruthless, dangerous area designed to test Pokemon trainers on their ability to overcome obstacles. The weather up there is unpredictable. One moment you may think you're all dandy in glorious sunshine, but Mother Nature will take a vital turn on you. The winds are harsh, the heat is brutal, and the blizzards pound on you like twenty thousand Donphan,"

"What do you suggest we do?" Jackson asked.

"There's not much you can do in a war against Mother Nature, boy. Just stay close to one another and whatever you do, do not get stuck in a blizzard," she warned.

"Where is Victory Road?" Penny questioned.

The elderly woman lifted her bony finger and pointed above the tree tops.

"That mountain you see there is your first obstacle. After that there is a tunnel that'll lead you right to the Pokemon League… if you choose the right paths of course,"

"Have you ever traveled through Victory Road?" Kylie asked.

"Once," the woman quickly answered. "But my group and I did not make it through. We had to turn back,"

"Thank you for your time," Kylie bowed slightly and respectfully at the elder. The three got up from their seats and dusted off their butts. Just as they turned to leave, the old woman hindered their exiting.

"Remember one thing, children. People have left for Victory Road, and some never return,"

The triad of teenagers arrived at the mountain and began to scale it with much caution. None of them knew what time it was, so they continued on. Eventually, Kylie, Penny, and Jackson grew tired and set up camp for the night. Each of them slipped into their sleeping bags, Jackson's Rattata curling up beside him.

"Do you really think some people have died going through this thing?" Penny asked.

Kylie bit her bottom lip, "I don't know, but if Victory Road is really as cruel as the elder said it was, then we're getting off easy,"

Jackson shot up from the ground and hushed the girl, "SHHHHHHH! You're gonna jinx us!"

"Well, everyone try not to worry about it and get some sleep," said Kylie.

The trinity started walking again the next morning. The day rolled by slowly with Penny yakking about what type of hair care product she should start using.

"I think your hair looks fine the way it is," Jackson complimented.

"That's because you love her!" Kylie sung teasingly, puckering her lips and making kissy faces at Jackson.

"Shut up, I do not," Jackson snarled, shoving Kylie aside.

Penny shrugged, "Hey, it's hard not to love me. That reminds me of this time I was in Lavender Town and this guy walked up to me and was like 'Hey, are you the girl from that commercial?' and I was all 'What commercial?' So then everyone in town started thinking I was that chick from TV and I was so popular and I even got a free donut at the bakery. Everyone loved me!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Jackson replied sarcastically.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and the ground began to shake. Rocks tumbled down the side of the mountain from the rumbling and the three teenagers could barely keep their feet on the ground from the immense, forceful winds. Each of them clung to a tree trunk waiting for the gusts to blow over but they only got stronger. Jackson held his Rattata close to his chest while Penny and Kylie hung on for dear life. Next, Kylie's stomach dropped when she saw a funnel dropped down from the storm clouds above. It was a tornado, and it was huge. The massive, black, swirling cyclone was heading towards them and they had no where to run. The winds were sucking them in as it trampled over the forest and took every tree with it. Dirt was flying everywhere and the wind was too loud and powerful for any of them to communicate with one another.

Each of them screamed for mercy as the twister picked them off the ground and captured them inside its cone of circling wind, dirt, and leaves. Soon, they were out of each other's sight and at least fifty feet above the ground.

Eventually, the windstorm calmed down and flung Penny and Jackson in one direction and Kylie in the other. As Penny and Jackson plunged to the earth branches scratched their arms and slapped their skin. The two crashed into the ground with a loud and excruciating thud. For a moment they lied there trying to regain consciousness, but Jackson began to roll around clenching his twisted leg.

"Fuck, my leg! My leg!" he shouted in agony, digging his skull into the ground, trying to prop himself up.

Penny held her head and then felt her cheek. She pulled her fingers back to reveal that her cheek was bleeding, but she had no time to worry about that now. Penny scrambled to her feet and dashed over to Jackson's side.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He seethed through his grinding teeth, "Does it look like I'm okay?"

"Sorry," she muttered, looking around not sure how to help him. "Lift your pant leg up," she ordered.

Jackson rolled up his jeans to expose his bruised, bloody leg. His kneecap was disfigured and looked like it popped out of place. Penny was pretty sure that there were a few other broken areas too. Jackson cringed as Penny untied the green bandana that was wrapped around her head.

"I'm no expert so I'm not sure of what I can do, but I'll wrap this around your knee for now," Penny told him as she initiated the binding. "How does that feel?" she asked after finishing.

"It's no hospital treatment but it'll do," Jackson smiled at the girl.

"Well, you're a good friend for coming with us, even after hearing all those horrible stories about the weather and stuff,"

"You two needed someone to look after you," Jackson shrugged, then clenched his knee in pain since he by accidentally moved it. Jackson's Rattata waddled over and looked at its trainer in concern.

Penny rubbed the boy's knee to soothe it, "Oh yes, we're so fortunate to have the big, strong Jackson with us here to save the day,"

"Doesn't look like that'll happen with my stupid knee," Jackson pointed out.

Jackson swung his arm over Penny's shoulder and she helped him stand up. The boy winced and groaned in pain as they practiced taking steps together.

"Let's find a place to rest for the night," Penny suggested.

Kylie screamed on the top of her lungs as she plummeted into a lake and nearly touched the bottom from falling so fast. The surface seemed miles away and Kylie ached for air. She hustled to the top and burst from underwater, gasping in oxygen. After collapsing on the soil near by, Kylie realized that Jackson and Penny were no where in sight. Her heart began to pound while the sacs under her eyes grew heavier, as if she wanted to cry but no tears were available.

Kylie began to do this unintentional dry hiccup due to her sudden, frantic worrying. Her head turned in all directions but all she saw were a few pine trees, rock, and more rock.

"How am I supposed to find them? What if I'm stuck out here to die?!" she asked herself in a panicking scream.

Kylie shook her head, cleansing it from those thoughts. She told herself to stay positive after taking a deep breath. The brave thing to do is stay calm and find a way down the mountain. It was around mid-afternoon since the sun was at its peak, but the horizon didn't look so bright. Stirring storm clouds quickly bustled forward and it didn't appear like Kylie had much time to find shelter before the storm hit. The temperature began to drop so Kylie put her windbreaker jacket on, and as she dug through her knapsack she spotted Owen's wristwatch. The girl frowned after seeing the painful memento, grasping her short strands of hair which fell loose of her ponytail.

Suddenly, a clicking sound echoed and a river of red light shot from one of the Pokeballs on Kylie's belt. The crimson beam dissolved into the shape of Charmander, who then appeared with a sympathetic look on his adorable face.

Kylie turned her head and looked at her Pokemon curiously, "What are you doing out her buddy?"

Charmander slowly shuffled over before latching onto Kylie's calf and snuggling against her damp skin. The fire type looked back up at her with a glisten in his eyes and an empathetic pout. Kylie rubbed the lizard-like creature's head before hugging him tightly. Next, rain began to descend from the shadowy clouds and pretty soon that rain froze into snow. Kylie hopped off the ground and started running to find protection from the freezing snow pounding on her back. Charmander stupidly refused to be sent back in his Pokeball so she zipped him between her chest and the jacket.

Kylie stood underneath a tall pine tree, some of the branches blocking the forceful flurry.

"Charmander, get into your Pokeball this instant! It'll be safer for you in there so just go!" Kylie ordered in frustration.

"_Char- Char!_" he yelped in refutation.

Unexpectedly, when Kylie was just about to bark another order, she and Charmander were blown off the side of the mountain. The two tumbled downward, Charmander slipping out of her windbreaker. Finally, after more backbreaking rolling, the two plunged into the deep snow and landed safely on a flat, secure area. Their faces were planted in the frozen water and when Charmander lifted his head out of the snow, some stuck to his face and made him look like Santa Claus. Kylie had no time to chuckle, as do to the fact she couldn't feel her face. She was too busy cowering away from the thing that stood before her.

"Thank God we found this cave in time," Penny sighed in relief.

The two had found a cave inside the mountain and patched up the entry way with snow just as the blizzard grew intense. Jackson sat on the ground, leaning against the wall of the cave. His leg had stopped bleeding and was so numb he could hardly feel the pain.

"How's your leg doing?" Penny crawled over and asked before sitting next to him.

"Better," Jackson cringed slightly and struggled to look manly and tough in front of Penny. "How's your cheek?"

"Fine," Penny answered with a faint smile. "You know, this isn't the first time I've gotten cut on the cheek. One time I was invited to my old best friend's birthday party and since her birthday was near Halloween she invited us all to a haunted hay ride. Well, we got there and this guy with a chain saw made one of the girls cry she was so scared! And another one peed in her pants! So anyway, as I was climbing down from the wagon I cut my cheek on the metal edge. Man, did that hurt," Penny continued to talk speedily.

As Jackson sat there smiling and listening attentively, it made Penny think. No person has ever cared enough about her to listen to each and every one of her stories. She was amazed by Jackson's patience and his bravery to travel through Victory Road with her and Kylie.

"Ya know Jackson, looking back I still don't understand why you've been so nice to me all this time," Penny said as she turned away to hide her blushing. "You always treat me like a queen. Opening doors for me, pulling out my chair, fetching anything I need…"

Jackson shrugged, then filled his cheeks with air and puffed it out slowly as he tried to think of something to say. "I don't know,"

"Well, it's very sweet of you," she smiled, lowering her hand to pat his leg.

Jackson halted her, "You better not- my knee, remember?"

"Oh, right, sorry,"

Kylie trembled in pure terror. Sticking out of the fluorescent white snow were over fifty headstones, covered in filth and worn to stubs. What made Kylie and Charmander cower was the apparition floating before them. It was a long, pale, eel-like creature with a flowing, auburn mane and majestic, ocean blue eyes. The end of its tail was covered in glistening, stunning, cobalt scales. The Pokemon was shrouded by a grey-blue haze and shifted as the harsh winds blew through it and dust dispersed from its ancient spirit.

"What Pokemon is that?" Kylie stuttered, puttering through her bag, searching for her Pokedex.

_Milotic is the world's most beautiful Pokemon. When People bicker, it is said to arise from the depths of lakes to becalm violent hearts._

Strangely, when Milotic talked to Kylie and Charmander, the Pokemon's jaw did not move. Instead, a heavenly voice that sounded as calm as the ocean and cheerful as a song bird echoed through out the area. Her voice was like syrup being slowly poured.

"Welcome travelers," said the friendly phantom. Out of no where, the wind hindered and the snowfall ceased. The sky remained grey but the harsh weathers had stopped after hearing Milotic's harmonious voice.

"Where are we?" Kylie asked.

"This is the resting place of numerous Pokemon that have lost their lives on Victory Road. I am the guardian of this sacred place. I stop those who wish to disrupt these beloved Pokemon's rest. I foresaw the arrival of a human with a pure soul and knew to welcome them with much benevolence," Milotic explained. "I am assuming that must be you, yes human?"

"I've made my fair share of mistakes," Kylie admitted, bowing her head in sadness.

"Even those with the purest of souls have made mistakes," Milotic reminded the saddened girl. "As a reward for much modesty, my followers and I will bring you to your place of desire," the mythological Pokemon offered.

Suddenly, all sorts of different Pokemon spirits rose from the ground and levitated in the air. The swarm of grey-blue apparitions swiftly surrounded Kylie who was clutching Charmander nervously. A pinch of dust landed on her eyelashes, causing the girl to sneeze. Before they knew it, the two were slowly growing further away from the ground and the graveyard grew smaller.

They were like one-hundred little humming birds, fluttering around through the sky with Milotic leading the way. Each Pokemon propelled themselves forward by flapping their arms and legs as if they were swimming through the sea of stars. Kylie and Charmander quickly caught on and mimicked their movement. The two smiled uncontrollably as the breeze caressed their cheeks and fiddled with their hair.

They made it past the mountain and over the tunnel. Kylie spastically remembered, "My friends: Penny and Jackson! They're still out there somewhere!"

Milotic calmly nodded. Kylie looked over her shoulder to see two beams of light bullet from the side of the mountain and rocket towards her like an ashen, shooting star. The two bundles of radiance continued to fly through the sky and past the tunnel and finally landed on the ground beyond the tree tops.

"We have sent your friends from their current location to just outside Victory Road's tunnel. We shall meet them there shortly," Milotic enlightened.

Moments later, Milotic and her ghostly friends landed Kylie and Charmander safely on the ground where they saw Penny, Jackson, and Rattata lying yards away.

"Are you guys ok?" Kylie hurried over and asked them in concern.

The two awoke noisily while rubbing their sore eyes. Kylie patted Jackson on the back as he and Penny picked them selves off the ground. Milotic and her friends gathered around the group of travelers with content, satisfied smiles on their faces.

"How'd we get here?" Penny asked in a fog.

"Just the help of some new friends," Kylie shrugged. She turned back to the deceased sea creature. "Thank you, Milotic. You've made this pain in the butt a lot easier,"

"I can see you will make a difference in the world some day, young Kylie Scorch. It is my honor to aide those who cease the world from any danger," Milotic said and bowed respectfully.

Penny raised a brow and scanned their surroundings, "Who are you talking to?" she asked Kylie.

Kylie ignored both Penny and Milotic's comments and just smiled as the ghouls floated upward and wafted away through the starry sky. The specks of haze disappeared back towards the mountain and Kylie, Penny, and Jackson set up camp. It was late and Jackson still needed to rest from his injury. As Kylie lied on top of her sleeping bag with her hands folded behind her head, she glanced up at the stars. The vast blackness of the night sky was scattered with stars which looked like distant, sparkling flecks of snow.

Kylie was proud of herself for not thinking about Owen that much the entire day, but when she took another peep at the constellations, one gathering was lined up in a way that resembled the face of Owen. Kylie turned over in her bed and buried her face in the fabric.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Volleyball season has sadly ended but this means I'll have more time to write PSJ! Yay! I'm sure everyone else is as busy as I am with the school year and stupid homework but I'll try to update as quickly as I can. You can expect maybe 1-3 chapters a month from now on. My goal over the summer was to finish PSJ by thanksgiving (a holiday towards the end of November for those of you who don't know) but my goal is now pushed to finish it by the end of the year. Please review and stay tuned! :D**


	73. Opening Ceremonies

Chapter 73

"Whoa," I uttered in amazement, turning my head to see a vast stadium in the distance.

Jackson, Penny, and I all rested on a grassy hill with a gentle, cool breeze twirling our hair. The three of us stood there speechless while gaping at the enormous arena about a mile away. The mega dome was so huge it appeared like it was just feet in front of us. It was the Pokemon League.

The early morning sun tickled our cheeks as the wind continued to play with our hair. Each of us stood there silently, reflecting on the past year's events. How time flew. Finally, all of our hard work was about to pay off. My dreams were about to come true. I was just days away from competing in the tournament of a lifetime.

Without interrupting our peaceful and tranquil silence, I began to walk down the hill and Penny and Jackson soon followed. We walked to the Pokemon League Stadium and in about a half an hour arrived at its perimeter.

"Can you believe we're finally here?" Penny asked in a mellow sigh, staring up at the tall, metal doors which greeted us.

Dozens of other Pokemon trainers gathered around the border to mingle, each of them holding out Pokeballs attempting to impress their associate with their Pokemon. Some sweaty arms rubbed against me as we tried weaving through the crowd to find the registration building. The number of people in the area kept growing and growing as the day progressed. Eventually, after circling the colossal stadium twice, we spotted the two story, pink building labeled "Registration".

We sauntered inside where we were met by a blast of freezing air conditioning. The room was large and open but all the space was taken up by travelers of all ages. Once again the three of us struggled through the crowd and made it to the front desk which was against the back wall. The counter top was cherry pink and was so long that five women could work at it and help Pokemon trainers register. There were only about seven people in front of us, so we made it to the front of the line in a short matter of time.

The woman who sat in front of us was middle aged and overweight, with a round, gentle face. She wore a good amount of makeup that made her jade eyes sparkle and she also wore a warm smile. Her long, curly, blonde hair was pulled out of her face with a burette. The woman fashioned a pink blazer over a white, floral, lacey blouse and the bottom half of her I couldn't see because her legs were tucked under the desk.

"Hello, welcome to the registration building, how are you this morning?" she said kindly.

"I'm great," I replied energetically.

"Excited?" she asked, leaning forward a bit, eager to hear my response.

I tossed my arms up in the air and opened my mouth to talk, but the cold air dried up my throat causing me to cough. I quickly moistened my mouth to answer, "Of course I am,"

"Good to hear," she smiled once again. "I'll take your badges so the computer can scan them,"

"What for?" Penny whispered to me.

I was about to answer when the woman at the desk immediately explained, "The computer scans them so we can tell whether they're fake or not. There, all done. You're all clear. Congratulations, you're officially a contender in the Pokemon League."

The sound of that made me giggle. I was filled with absolute joy.

"My name is Ronnie, by the way. So, if you ever need anything just come to me and I'll be delighted to help you out in anyway I can."

Penny registered after me. Next, Ronnie explained to us that we come to this building to find out who our matches are against and where they are being held. She then told us that there are four different types of fields, water, ice, grass, and rock. The main stadium, which was just outside, was where the opening and closing ceremonies were held. The top sixteen also battled there. Ronnie told us that there will be an estimated 238 entrants in this year's competition. Making it to the top sixteen is a great accomplishment. This proved you were the best of the best.

We thanked Ronnie for her help and exited the Registration building in search of the famous Pokemon Village, a town located behind the Indigo Stadium where all the Pokemon trainers stayed during the competition. We walked through the charming village which had antique and souvenir shops lining the sidewalks. Large, fancy restaurants and small, chrome diners were also around every corner. After browsing through a couple stores and watching some trainers battle one another, we made it the part of the village which was populated by giant, classy log cabins. The three story, temporary homes were shared by six trainers each and since Penny and I registered right after one another, Penny and I got roomed in the same house. Trainers were also allowed to have up to three guests stay with them, so Jackson was all clear. The log cabins were so huge a couple of visitors didn't even make a difference.

After sliding the card key through the slot, the door made a clicking sound and swung open. We stepped into a room with twenty foot tall ceilings and at the top was a luxurious, crystal chandelier. Below that sat the living room with a sectional, brown leather sofa and a plasma screen television. Beyond that was a lengthy dining room table which sat next to the kitchen which had stainless steel appliances. The three of us were so amazed with the sophisticated, expensive taste, all at once we murmured "Oh-my-god".

"Yeah, I said the same thing when I first walked in," said a little boy who just walked out of the kitchen.

Penny dove onto the couch and Jackson rubbed his hand against the wooden interior of the building. "This place is awesome," Jackson commented.

"Were you the first one here?" I asked the little boy.

He was extremely short and looked very young with a round, pudgy face and youthful, vibrant eyes. His hair was the color of leaves when they're changing color in the fall. He wore a blue, argyle sweater vest and khaki shorts.

He answered bluntly, "Yep,"

"Has anyone else shown up yet?"

He took a sip from his soda and replied, "Yeah, there's these two girls and some old guy who went straight to his room and hasn't come out since. I have this theory that he's some sort of spy for an architectural group way out in Hoenn and has devised a very complicated plan-"

"God, Penny! We're in the house for three seconds and you already broke something!" Jackson shouted, pointing down at the shattered vase on the floor.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "I'll get the broom."

As the day started winding down, Penny and I settled into our room while Jackson was taking a shower. There were five bedrooms in the house, each with its own bathroom. Two people could sleep in each room so of course Penny and I roomed together. The corridor was about as big as a master bedroom, with two twin beds, which looked like clouds from heaven were piled on the mattress, and two dressers.

The two girls who I hadn't met yet claimed a room, the mysterious man who was hiding in his room obviously roomed by himself, Jackson was staying in the guestroom, and the little boy was also rooming by himself. One trainer was still missing because the little boy told us that one girl was just the other girl's friend. The battling would be beginning in two days so we were wondering when the last person would show up.

The next morning after getting some breakfast with Penny and Jackson in the village, we headed back to the house to hang out for a while. We heard there was a horticulture festival being held at one o'clock, as much as Jackson begged us not to go, we figured it was something to do.

I was sitting on the couch and watching some mediocre news channel covering the Indigo League day-before-the-opening-ceremonies-excitement. I sat on one end of the couch while the little boy we became friendly with sat on the other. Penny and Jackson were absent.

"Hey, I don't know if I already told you, but my name is Aiden," the youngster introduced casually.

"Mine's Kylie," I smiled. I didn't want to seem nosy, but it had to been eating at me ever since I met him, so I just had to ask. "How old are you?"

"I'm ten," he quickly replied. "I know, I know, I look like I'm five," he saw the guilty-feeling expression on my face. "Don't feel bad. I get it a lot,"

"You seem really mature for your age," I complimented.

"Thanks, I guess traveling has helped me grow up," Aiden shrugged.

It was one o'clock so Penny, Jackson, and I headed to Main Street where the horticulture festival was being held. Booths and tables covered in flowers took over the road and I was surprised to see lots of trainers in the area. Penny went crazy over all of the supplies which supposedly helped grass type Pokemon. She made small talk with some of the merchants and showed them some of her grass type Pokemon like Bulbasaur and Tropius. I was looking at some beautiful flowers when I felt an elbow jab me roughly in the hip.

"Owch!" I shouted purposely loud and spun around angrily, waiting for the person who hit me to apologize, but there was no one even standing around me.

"Oh, pardon me, I am so sorry. Are you alright?" a raspy, lively voice asked me in courteous concern.

I peered down to see an elderly man who came up to my waist. He wore a blue, baseball cap backwards which sat on top of his long, white hair. The old man fashioned a red, zip-up sweatshirt and blue gym shorts. A bushy mustache grew above his lip and smile persisted on his pale, square face.

"I'm fine," I lied. My side actually felt like it had a bruise now.

"Glad to here it. So, are you participating in the Indigo League?" he asked.

I fueled the conversation by answering politely, "I sure am,"

"Fantastic!" he exclaimed, throwing his stubby arms in the air. "You look like a talented young lady with lots of potential. I'm Charles Goodshow, president of the Pokemon League Conferences around the world,"

My jaw dropped. I smacked my forehead in disbelief. I couldn't believe that I had been so intolerant and rude the **President** of the Pokemon League Conference. I grabbed his small, wrinkly hand and shook it vigorously, "I am so sorry, Mr. Goodshow! It is an honor for your elbow to have stabbed me in the ribs,"

The elder chuckled nervously, "The pleasure is all mine. Please, tell me your name,"

"I'm Kylie Scorch," I answered promptly.

"Wonderful! Well Kylie, if you have any questions or ever need anything don't hesitate to ask," Mr. Goodshow insisted. The man looked down at his vibrating pager. "I'm so sorry but I have to go. I have to go start running the torch in,"

"The torch?" I questioned.

"Yes," he nodded. "Every year a few successful trainers are selected to help bring the flame of Moltres to the cup in the Indigo Stadium. Igniting the flame officially commences the competition. It is the longest running tradition of this conference and every year I am put in charge of it. But of course, I'm the president, I'm in charge of almost everything!" he laughed jokingly.

"Where is this 'running of the torch', sir? Me and my friends would love to see it," I remarked excitedly.

"We'll be running all the way from Delily Train Station. You can see us running from the trail off Victory Road and to on that main strip over there," he informed me, pointing to the road that Jackson, Penny, and I took to reach the front of Indigo Stadium. "I'll see you at opening ceremonies tomorrow, correct?"

"You sure will," I smiled.

Late in the morning, the next day, hundreds of people lined the street and awaited the torch bearer to come into sight. Soon after we arrived, the torch carrier came jogging in with a van slowly driving behind him, Charles Goodshow perched on top, and an Officer Jenny patrolling beside the man on her motorcycle. People cheered as the well-built man smiled and waved, tightly gripping the torch with Moltres's fire in the other hand. Finally, the opening ceremonies were about to begin. Excitement and apprehension filled my body. The torch possessor entered the stadium and the spectators soon followed.

We left Jackson behind because Penny and I had to follow the other two hundred or so trainers to a secret corridor. The guide woman stood on a platform and explained to us all that we'd be divided up into four groups and all at once enter the stadium from four different entryways. Next, the torch bearer would run into the stadium and ignite the large cup a top some steps. After that, President Goodshow would step on stage and say a few inspirational words. To wrap it all up, fireworks would rocket off in the distance and everyone would be dismissed from the field.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as we waited for the signal to enter the stadium. Finally, after standing there for what seemed hours, the woman up front waved to our group and we started marching forward. I had no idea where I was walking because everyone around me was much taller and older, cramping me inward and making me feel insecure. After getting shoved about I spotted the light peeking into the hallway our faction ambled in. I was blinded by spotlights and the terrain below my feet changed from a durable tile to firm, packed dirt. My eyes adjusted to the light and I gazed at my surroundings. I was amazed.

Rigorous feelings of confidence and pride suddenly filled me as I smiled at the thousands of viewers in the stands. I looked in every direction to see if I could find Penny or Jackson, but there were so many trainers marching towards the center. I had no luck spotting Jackson in the audience either. However, I did manage to see Austin, Owen's old nemesis, Dusty, "Protector of the South Winds", Gabby, the girl with the ditto, Zane, and Marcus, the little boy who we helped get his stolen badges back.

The bleachers surrounding us stood at least three stories high and almost every seat was filled. In the center of the stadium sat the battling field, its bright, white stripes visible from a mile away. The field was a lot bigger than any other field I've battled on, that scared me a bit. The thing that caught everyone's attention was the large case of stairs leading up to a platform with a massive, silver bowl on top. The crowd cheered vigorously when the torch bearer entered the stadium in a brisk jog. He trounced the lengthy staircase and reached the top of the platform. After holding up the flame of Moltres for all to worship, he leaned over and dipped the torch into the silver cup. A giant flame came to life and the audience went crazy. The blaze lashed in the wind and the torch carrier took a bow before going back down the steps.

President Goodshow appeared before the lively flame with a microphone and said, "Welcome one and all to the annual Indigo League Conference. I hope you are all as excited as I am, because as I look at the faces of these hard-working trainers before me, I know they'll give us one competition to remember! The Pokemon League is not just a tournament, but it is a gathering of people of all ages, sharing their love for Pokemon. So trainers, your moment has finally arrived. Slacking is not an option in this competition. As long as you put all your effort and all your heart and all of your spirit into what you're here to do, then I have no doubt that you'll make it to the top! So let's celebrate this wondrous opportunity and let the Pokemon League begin!" Mr. Goodshow shouted, tossing his arms up in the air. And as he did so, the first three firecrackers were sent up into the noon sky and exploded with color.

People cheered as President Goodshow concluded his speech and the fireworks continued on. Later that night, when all the opening ceremony excitement had stopped, I stood outside under the stars, unable to sleep. I cradled Charmander in my arms and rubbed his head softly, sending him into a trance.

"Tomorrow is the big day, buddy," I whispered. "I have no idea how Penny is sleeping right now… I'm just so nervous,"

Charmander looked at me reassuringly yet drowsy.

I smiled, "You're right, we're going to do fine. But like Mr. Goodshow said, 'slacking is not an option'," I sighed and lifted my head to peer at the stars once more. "What if we fail? What if I'm not ready?" I looked down at Charmander and looked him in the eyes. "What if _we're_ not ready?"

"Of course you're ready," a voice said from behind us.

I gasped and spun around to see Jackson standing in the sliding glass door, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was in his flannel, blue pajamas and sauntered out, stumbling slightly from being so lethargic.

"Do you really think so?" I asked.

"For sure," he responded firmly. "You already earned all eight badges. You've already proven yourself, Kylie. Everyone knows that you're a great trainer. You can do this,"

I smiled, my nerves relieved, "I guess you're right. Thanks, Jackson."

We stood and talked for a little while longer until Charmander had fallen asleep in my arms, so I decided it was time I attempted to get some shut eye as well. I ended up lying in bed all night and I couldn't take my mind off the competition. I tossed and turned questioning myself: Am I ready for this? What if I'm not good enough? Was all of this training just a waste of time?

I whispered to myself, "I guess we'll find out tomorrow."


	74. Kylie's First Round Battle

Chapter 74

The next day the three of us woke up to see Aiden and the two other girls sitting at the dining room table munching on some sugary, chocolate cereal. I asked Aiden if the sixth trainer had shown up yet but he said no. He also told us the matches would be starting at ten today and range from then to six o'clock at night. Like explained to us by Ronnie, I had to beat four people on four different fields before I moved onto the Indigo Plateau.

After eating our delectable cereal, Jackson, Penny, and I headed to the Registration Building to find out when our matches were and where. We arrived at the front desk where Ronnie smiled at us pleasantly. She was wearing almost all pink once again except for today her blonde, coiled hair was pulled back in a tight bun.

"Hello," she greeted warmly. "How are you children doing this fine morning?"

Ronnie was so extraordinarily kindhearted and friendly it was as if rainbows were spewing out of her mouth. It felt almost as if leprechauns were frolicking around the room joyously with pots of gold because Ronnie created so much warmth and sunshine of goodness.

"We're doing great," Penny answered chipper and firm. "Can you tell me where and when my match is, and who I'm up against?" Penny asked.

"No problem-o," Ronnie smiled then tapped her stout fingers against her keyboard. She looked up and gladly informed Penny, "Your match will be at four o'clock on the water field against… Seth Dayton,"

"Sounds good, thanks, Ronnie," Penny smiled and stepped back so I could get my information next.

"When is my match?" I asked.

Ronnie once again tapped her fingers against the keyboard, scrolling down the list of trainers searching for my name.

"Your match is being held on the ice field and you will be facing Todd Glacier," Ronnie informed me in delight.

"Who the heck is that?" I questioned.

We heard a person behind us clear their throat then hiss, "That'd be me,"

We spun around to see a tall, narrow boy that looked around eighteen years old. He had a snarky grin on his face and bristles growing out of his chin. He slouched forward with his shoulders hovering above his toes and his exhausted clothes were lazily draped over his skeletal body. His voice was as raspy and rough as his whisker covered neck and the boy also had a wide gap between his front two teeth.

"I have to battle you?" Todd examined me up and down. He licked his top front teeth before puckering his lips and uttering, "This shouldn't be too difficult,"

I jerked forward but Penny held me back.

"C'mon Kylie, don't let this guy get to you," Jackson told me.

"It's too bad that you have to get eliminated this early in the competition, pretty lady. But if it makes you feel better, I'll go easy on you. After all, it is only the first round," Todd shrugged.

I grinded my teeth, my fists shaking from so much rage coursing through my veins, "Listen buddy, I don't need sympathy from a jerk like you. I've gotten this far and I'm not about to start begging for mercy," I admonished, poking his chest roughly. I peered over my shoulder and muttered to Penny, "If I lose to this conceded jerk, don't refrain from hitting me repeatedly with a hammer,"

"Better call Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor, because your dreams are about to come true, pretty lady," Todd sneered. This was probably the closest the fatuous dork has ever gotten to a girl.

My skin melted off each time Todd called me "pretty lady". It was like watching a lion stalking its prey. The vulture was taunting the lion by flying circles in the air, where the lion couldn't reach. Eventually the beast got so full of ire it launched off the ground and snatched the vulture in its paws. Only I couldn't catch this vulture. Todd and I bickering like this reminded me of when Owen and I used to fight. Ah, the good old days.

Finally, I turned the other way before I did something I'd regret. I didn't want to get expelled from the competition just yet. Although, if I had to get kicked out for any reason it'd be from kicking someone's ass.

"I don't have time for this. C'mon guys, let's go," I said to Penny and Jackson, leaving the smirking Todd Glacier behind.

Eleven o'clock was approaching and I was pacing back and forth in the living room restlessly. Penny and Jackson sat on the couch, Jackson's Rattata curled up on his lap, napping peacefully.

"Have you thought about what Pokemon you're going to use?" Penny asked me

"No," I answered promptly.

"So, what's on your mind then?" Jackson questioned calmly.

"Nothing, okay? Everyone stop drilling me!" I shouted and stomped out the door.

Penny shot up from the couch and shrugged, "I guess it's time to go."

The three of us arrived at the ice field. Penny and Jackson entered the gate to find their seats and I went to the outer ring, where I would have to walk through a tunnel to reach the battling field.

I stood in the long, narrow, dark passageway, taking deep breaths while closing my eyes to try to calm my nerves. I couldn't wait to get out there and kick this Todd Glacier guy's butt out of the competition.

I peered down at my hands which were grasping a red and white cap with a green C on the front. I reflected back to when Ash Ketchum gave this to me for rescuing his Pikachu. I thought it was amazing how my idol and neighbor wore this exact hat during his first Pokemon League competition, and I was going to do the same. I was going to honor this baseball cap by wearing it and battling as hard as I could.

I placed the stiff hat on top of my head which crushed the back of my ponytail. I took another deep breath. Finally, my legs responded and began to take steps forward. The light from the outside blinded me but once my eyes adjusted, I couldn't get over the stadium.

The battling arena was surrounded by stadium seats with a few concession stands on the upper deck. The arena was pretty big but definitely not as big as the Indigo Plateau stadium. About a third of the seats were filled with middle aged travelers simply coming to observe just for the enjoyment of watching Pokemon battles. There were a couple groupings of teenagers sitting in the stands just to kill time, but they weren't paying attention, they were just fooling around and chucking garbage at one another. I guess the stands didn't fill that much until you got further into the competition.

In front of me sat the Pokemon battling field, looking as normal as any other field, besides the fact that a thick sheet of ice covered it. At each end was a podium where the trainer stood. They looked identical to the ones at the Viridian City gym, one blue and the other red. Everyone could hear the dinging from the clock tower in the Pokemon village letting us know it was finally eleven o'clock.

Todd entered the sports dome and scaled the podium. He crossed his arms confidently, waiting for me to arrive. I climbed the podium and it felt like I was on top of the world. I waited so long for this, and it was just as I imagined. Except, in my dream every seat was filled and my parents were here cheering me on, but that's beside the point. I don't know how to describe it, but a tingly wave of energy coursed through out my body. I guess you could call it… sheer happiness.

Before long, the unenthused announcer arrived and sat himself in the observation building that was suspended over the small stadium.

The intercom made some deafening shrill beeps and crackling sounds before the announcer settled the machine and finally talked through the microphone. He spoke softly, like he had just woken up with a hang over. His voice was monotonous and deep, and I sat there smiling to myself, wondering how he landed this job.

"Welcome to the first round preliminary match between Kylie Scorch and Todd Glacier," the announcer introduced unenergetically. "Each trainer will choose three Pokemon to use. The referee will declare when your Pokemon is unable to battle. The trainer to knock out all of their opponent's team wins," the broadcaster explained.

A young male wearing a black and white stripped jersey stepped onto the sidelines. He raised his two flags, one being red to match the red podium, which was the one I stood on, and the other was blue to match Todd's blue podium. "Let the battle begin!" he declared.

A flat screen monitor was hung on a stadium wall. The screen was split into two sides, one side with my picture and three lit up boxes below it, and on the other side were Todd's photo and his three boxes. The boxes represented how many Pokemon left we were able to use, once all three boxes dimmed that meant the opposing trainer had defeated all three of their opponent's cohorts.

The first battle commenced with me selecting Rapidash as my combatant. Todd's first choice was predictable: an ice type. It was a three foot tall seal with azure leather skin. White, feathery whiskers protruded from its upper lip and pale blotches, the color of beach sand, covered its chest. I pulled out my Pokedex to get more information about this seal-like creature.

_Sealeo habitually spins things on its nose. By doing so, it learns textures and odors. _

Suddenly, I heard Todd's scratchy voice and it sounded as if he was just inches in front of me. I peered down to see a speaker box connected to the railing. I concluded there must be one on each podium so both trainers can hear the other's commands.

"Your fire type is in for quite the surprise," Todd snickered.

"Oh, yeah? Rapidash, start things off with fire blast," I instructed.

Rapidash inhaled deeply before exhaling a tremendous amount of fire. The flames surrounded Sealeo in a funnel like shape and the ice type was quickly swallowed by the blaze. The flames burned with much intensity with the swirl of red and oranges lashing in the air. As the flames diminished, Sealeo lie there motionless. Todd grasped his hair in much shock as his eyes practically shot out of his head.

"What? How could this happen?" he asked furiously.

"Such confident words for someone who can't even handle one little fire blast," I taunted.

Todd returned his Pokemon with much haste and ferocity. He grumbled curses to himself as he grimaced at his belt, contemplating over which Pokemon to choose next. For the proceeding battle, Todd sent out yet another ice type Pokemon. It was a silver sphere shaped Pokemon with jet black ears and stripes. The Pokemon looked ferocious, glaring devilishly with its eyes the color of the ice below it. The ice type gritted its small, needle like teeth sadistically and wobbled back and forth on its circular posterior. I knew this was a Glalie because I had seen Ash Ketchum's at Professor Oak's lab a couple weeks ago. I searched the fathoms of my pocket for my Pokedex which was nestled inside.

_To protect itself, Glalie clads its body in an armor of ice, made by freezing the moisture in the air._

"If you get even one scratch on my Glalie, I'll give you all my other Pokemon," Todd challenged, crossing his arms pompously.

"I'm not interested in your Pokemon, Todd," I rejected immediately. "Rapidash, use take down,"

Rapidash charged towards the stationary Glalie, her head bowed forward. As Rapidash approached Glalie's front with much speed, the Pokemon shook robustly and covered itself in a thick shield of ice. Rapidash pierced the armor with her pointed horn and caused a fissure to trickle down the side of Glalie's ice guard. Next, I ordered Rapidash to use fire blast and direct it at the crevice. Rapidash cocked her head backwards before releasing another powerful array of flames. The blaze persistently bulleted against the frozen shield until the ice shattered. A few icicles pricked Rapidash in the chest but she continued her beam of fire at Glalie. The ice type Pokemon toppled over, coated in ash.

"How can this be happening?" Todd asked himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "By the way, I was just kidding about the whole have my Pokemon thing,"

"Just send out your next Pokemon," I seethed.

Todd sent out his third, and final ice type Pokemon. I guess that's all he brought. Anyway, it was the same Pokemon that Zane has: a Piloswine. This one was an abnormal, pale mustard color and had much smaller tusks compared to Zane's. Todd began this battle by commanding his Piloswine to use mud-slap, which is when a Pokemon flings mud at their opponents face to reduce accuracy. Rapidash easily evaded the feeble attack and stomped on the furry beast with her two front hooves. After, I instructed to Rapidash to use fire blast one last time. Piloswine was easily beaten after that one assault. We had done it. All three of Toad's boxes were lightless. We won.

I turned my head to see Penny and Jackson rocket up from their seats and erupt with cheering and clapping. A few other spectators clapped along for my first round victory. I simply looked at the crowd and smiled. My victory didn't sink in until the tedious announcer proclaimed that I was the winner. I raced out onto the field and wrapped my arms around Rapidash's neck. I was so proud that she had defeated all three Pokemon on her own.

Soon after, we met Todd outside the small arena where his shoulders drooped even more than normal. He hung his head in disappointment and misery.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Penny taunted. "Kylie whooped your butt so hard!"

"Be respectful, Penny," I warned her, then looked at Todd and said sympathetically, "I'm sure you tried your hardest." I peered at Penny who was smirking devilishly. I nodded before cracking and shouting triumphantly, "JUST NOT HARD ENOUGH, SUCKAH!"

Todd sulked away without any parting words, which surprised me. As he disappeared around the corner, a shadow of guilt hovered in my presence and I just had to chase after him. I reached out for his shoulder and spun him around. I captured his hand in a firm shake before saying politely, "Good match, Glacier,"

He shook my hand effortlessly and shrugged before wallowing off. I stood there with a satisfied grin on my face. My hands were softly resting on my hips and I knew this was just the beginning. I was going to have to eliminate a lot more competition if I wanted to make it any further, so I needed to stop feeling bad for them. I was in it to win it, and if I wanted to make it to the top, I could never let myself take my mind of it. No distractions. No mercy.

**A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't been updating frequently but now that I have completed and turned in one of two thesis papers for this semester, I'll hopefully have more time to write PSJ. I know I said I'd like to finish PSJ by the end of the year, but as you can see there is NO WAY that is going to happen, so to make life easier on myself, I am not setting a date for when I'd like to complete PSJ. Anyway, please review and stay tuned for the next chapter where Penny battles in her first round match! (Don't worry, the next 5 chapters or so will not be all tedious Pokemon battles. Stay tuned for the chapter after next! I guarantee it'll contain some excitement!)**


	75. Penny's Preliminary Round

Chapter 75

"Hey mom, I have great news," I said later that afternoon, talking to my parents on the computer telephone.

"I know sweetie, you won your first match!" she shrieked due to her excitement. My mother clenched the coiled phone cord tightly as she smiled endlessly. "Kylie, honey, your father and I are so proud of you. Just be careful. Check to make sure those podiums you stand on are safe. They don't look very sturdy,"

"Wait, how did you already know that I won?" I asked. My brow rose in puzzlement.

"Each match is aired on TV," my father enlightened me, wrapping his burly arm around my petite mother.

"Indeed. Professor Oak invited us over to watch your battles on his big screen television. He even invited the Ketchums and a few other neighbors," my mother added.

I slapped my hands to my cheeks and pulled them downward forcefully out of pure horror. "Ash Ketchum was watching me battle?!" I exclaimed from the dreadfulness.

"Oh honey, why is that such a bad thing? And don't do that to your face," my mom warned. "It'll give you unwanted wrinkles,"

"So we'll be seeing all of your matches through out the competition," my dad nodded.

I sighed, "I guess that's good,"

"Good luck, Kylie, sweetie," my mother sung as she waved to the screen vivaciously.

"Don't give up," my father added in.

"I won't. Bye mom and dad, I love you," I told them sincerely with a smile before hanging up the phone.

Three hours later Jackson and I found our seats in the bleachers of the water field. We were there to watch Penny battle it out against Seth Dayton in her preliminary round. I was confident that Penny could win this, especially since her Pokemon had an advantage over water type, that is, if that's what her opponent decides to use.

The field was an aquarium which had glass siding so the audience could peer inside and see water type Pokemon in combat under the surface. Four platforms, two large and two small, floated on the surface of the clear, fresh water.

Seth and Penny entered the stadium. The only onlookers at this fixture were Jackson and I and what looked like Seth's immediate family. The two grabbed their first Pokeball and tossed it onto the platform nearest to them. On Seth's side, a hefty purplish colored Pokemon with eyes like a toad and gloves like a boxer appeared. On its white stomach was a hypnotizing black swirl and my Pokedex identified this beast as a Poliwrath. Penny chose a Pokemon of hers who I had never met before, a large, navy beetle with a shiny, outer shell. I pulled my Pokedex out once again.

_Heracross is the fighting and bug type Pokemon. With powerful legs and claws, it generates enough power to hurl foes over great distances._

The referee swung his flags and the battle between these two bulky beasts had begun. Penny started things off by commanding her Heracross to soar up in the air. Seth immediately demanded that his Poliwrath use bubblebeam on the airborne Pokemon, and I was highly impressed with the speed that the attack was released at. The bubbles repeatedly burst and pounded against Heracross' chest, but it had little effect.

"Use horn attack," Penny instructed.

Heracross swooped downward towards Poliwrath, who stood on one of the larger platforms. Seth countered by telling his Poliwrath to jump in the water.

"Your Pokemon may have the sky, but my Pokemon has the sea," Seth pointed out.

Heracross hovered above the surface gazing into the water, searching for Poliwrath's whereabouts. All of the sudden, Poliwrath exploded from the water and punched Heracross in the side with extreme force. Heracross went gliding across the opposite platform and remained motionless. Penny returned her bug and fighting type Pokemon and released another unfamiliar Pokemon to me, an elegant fox-like creature with leaves sprouting from its head and tail.

_Leafeon is one of the evolved forms of Eevee. Leafeon uses photosynthesis just like plants, which allows it to heal itself while in strong sunlight._

"Did Penny's Eevee evolve into a Leafeon?" I asked in surprise.

Jackson turned his head and smiled blissfully, "Yep, when we made up with each other, she finally accepted my Moss Stone and used it to evolve her Eevee," informed Jackson.

"I know how long Penny dreamed of having one of those," I noted.

The battle proceeded with Penny's Leafeon trouncing Poliwrath after a few razor leafs. Next, Seth sent out a Hypno, and after staring at its swinging pendulum for just three seconds, even the most energetic person would fall asleep. Although this seemed challenging, Penny devised a plan. Leafeon closed its eyes while using Grasswhistle. This was a unique attack that lulls the opponent to sleep by Leafeon rubbing two of its blades of grass together. Hypno was snoring in no time, and Leafeon gave it two tackles and a razor leaf before Seth recalled the hypnosis Pokemon.

Leafeon was doing great and Seth only had one Pokemon left. The young boy chucked a Pokeball containing a blue turtle with a fluffy white tail and ears. I had seen a Blastoise before and I had met a Squirtle, so I figured it must be related to the two. Within no time, my Pokedex eagerly informed me that it was the middle stage, Wartortle.

"Leafeon, use razor leaf," Penny commanded.

Seth ordered, "Use withdrawal, Wartortle,"

As a collection of jagged, jade leaves charged towards the water type, Wartortle sucked his head, arms, and legs into his shell. The leaves bounced off the turtle's armor and it popped out before firing a powerful water blast. Leafeon cringed as the rushing water soaked its beautiful coat, but after shaking the liquid off Leafeon recovered in no time. Wartortle defeated Leafeon just seconds later after bashing its skull against the fragile, verdant Pokemon.

Penny and Seth were both down to their last Pokemon. This battle was definitely getting interesting. I pondered which Pokemon Penny might possibly use. Jackson and I assumed she was going to select her Wingull, since it was a water and flying type. However, we were both delightfully surprised when Penny sent out her Ivysaur, which evolved from her starter Pokemon, Bulbasaur.

"Oh man, this is going to be sweet. Ivysaur against Wartortle for all the marbles," Jackson said, nibbling on his fingernails while sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Start things off with take down!" Penny shouted.

Seth counteracted by exclaiming, "Use skull bash!"

Ivysaur leapt from platform to platform in order to reach Wartortle on the opposite side of the water field. Wartortle zipped in all sorts of direction like a bee. The turtle Pokemon bowed its head forward while charging rapidly. The two Pokemon's heads collided and they ricocheted off one another. Ivysaur stood there dazed for a moment before shaking its head back to concentration. Wartortle held its aching cranium but quickly jumped back into the game with another powerful water gun.

Ivysaur got shoved right off the platform and its rear end dipped in the clear water. Ivysaur launched two, razor sharp leaves as it climbed back up. Wartortle easily dodged them but it couldn't escape Penny's next idea.

"Wrap around Wartortle with vine whip," Penny instructed.

Seth began to spill out some words, but they weren't in time to stop Ivysaur from capturing Wartortle in its constricting vines. Penny gave her final command by telling her Ivysaur to launch Wartortle up in the air. Ivysaur swung its vines upward and released the turtle high into the sky. Wartortle spun like a helicopter as it crashed towards the battling turf. The Pokemon plummeted onto one of the smaller platforms and fainted. The battle had ended and Penny had won. Jackson and I shot up from our chairs and cheered obnoxiously.

Later, we met Penny on the upper deck of the miniature stadium where all of the concession stands were. It smelt like burnt hotdogs and garbage covered the cement floors like it was carpeting. A few husky, old men were effortlessly sweeping the area, but the litter had been there so long it was stuck to the ground.

"Way to go, Penny," I congratulated my friend and gave her an excellent high-five.

"You totally owned that kid," Jackson added with a content grin.

Penny shrugged, "It was actually a pretty close battle. But oh my god, I was so nervous. I'm kind of glad it's over. Ya know? No more 'first round' pressure. Let me tell you, I am starving after all that work. I have to pee big time. Man, lame, I don't have any cash on me to buy food. Guess I'll have to starve. Oh well, I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back," Penny rambled as she did a slight potty dance. The girl turned and rushed towards the restrooms which I'm sure were vile and absolutely disgusting.

Jackson looked at me anxiously, "Quick, what food should I get for Penny?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm gonna get her something because she's hungry," Jackson looked at me like this was completely obvious.

I narrowed my eyes at the boy while smirking, "And yet you continue to say you don't like her. C'mon, just admit to me that you have a thing for her and I'll stop teasing you… as much,"

Jackson grunted intolerantly, "You're no help! So should I get a hotdog or pizza? Maybe some funnel cake? Yeah, that sounds good,"

Penny returned moments later to see Jackson holding a fried pastry on a paper plate. He held the funnel cake outward, gesturing for Penny to take it.

"Hey Penny, I hope you like funnel cake. I bought you some," Jackson handed her the snack, his cheeks coloring red.

"Jackson, you are a life saver! I was about to die of starvation!" she exclaimed, gladly accepting the fried dough. "You know, I don't say this to you enough, Jackson, but… you're a really good friend."

Penny patted the boys shoulder as she passed him to go pour some sugar on her funnel cake. As she walked away Jackson's jaw dropped to the floor.

I stood there cackling, "Oh man, you just got friend zoned HARD!"

Later that night Jackson, Penny, Aiden, and I all went into the village to get some supper together. We found a Chinese restaurant which was buffet style. We all collected the food we desired onto our glass plates and searched for a clean table to sit at.

After we spotted a suitable booth in the corner, the four of us started our way towards it with Penny leading the way. All of the sudden, a girl pulled out her chair to get up just as Penny was walking by with the mound of food on her platter. It was as if the girl collapsed to the floor in slow motion. I covered my mouth as the horrendous and humiliating moment took place. Penny skidded across the tile flooring, her stomach against the ground and her face planted in her bowl of rice.

The people at the girl's table laughed hysterically, pointing at Penny callously on the floor. Penny growled filled with absolute ire. She looked over her shoulder to see the jerk that had tripped her with their chair.

The girl was the ideal cheerleader, miss popular, prep. She was short and slender with straight, beach blonde hair. She wore a pink hoodie with skinny jeans and brown Ugg boots which overlapped her pants. The teenage girl was around Penny's age and decorated her face with pink lip gloss and heavy eye liner.

Two teenage boys, both on the attractive side, and three other girls sat at the round table. The two boys shoved each other back and forth playfully while still chuckling at Penny's blunder. The three girls giggled and twirled their hair continuously. I rolled my eyes at their cruel, superficial behavior.

"Oops," the girl said softly. "Sorry," she added sarcastically.

Penny launched off the ground and smeared the sticky, white rice off her face, and then attempted to pluck a few pieces of chicken off her chest.

"No problem," Penny narrowed her eyes at the girl. "You probably weren't thinking," Penny said tauntingly with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Ohhhh, diss," Jackson cooed.

The girl clucked her lips in disgust while doing some sort of twirling motion with her head like she got offended.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

"I mean watch where you're going next time," Penny admonished.

"Alright, alright," I finally stepped in. "Break it up," I told them. Penny and the girl eyed each other furiously before Penny wheeled around and exited the restaurant.

"Are you alright, Penny?" I asked her outside the restaurant.

Penny grunted filled with rage, "If we ever see that girl again I'm going to kick her bratty ass back to the town she came from."

**A/N: I know Eevee can only evolve into a Leafeon in a certain area or something, but I say "screw the rules I have money!" Can anyone guess what that's referencing? Anyway, happy holidays everyone!**


	76. The Fight

Chapter 76

The next two days went by in a flash. Penny and I had won both our second and third round matches. More good news, in one of the battles Croconaw evolved into Feraligatr, the final evolved stage of Totodile.

I felt great after my third series of battles were over with. As far as I've seen it, the Pokemon League hasn't been so toilsome and difficult as everyone else says it is. In fact, this was child's play. My Pokemon and I were knocking other people out like one, two, three. All these youngsters were rushing around, stressing over their upcoming matches and what Pokemon they should select. Meanwhile, I was just kicking back and cracking open a nice, cold soda.

Aiden entered the living from the main hallway to see me lounging on the large, leather sofa. He told me about his first three matches thus far and agreed with me that this competition has been cake. It was nice that someone finally concurred with me. Jackson kept warning me not to get too cocky. I wasn't about to start slacking or anything, but I had already made it to the fourth round! I was getting to my dream faster than I thought.

I started to notice that as each round passed, more and more people began to show up and watch our matches. By the end of Penny's third round, a group of kids in the audience were chanting her name. This made her feel phenomenal. In fact, the two of us felt fantastic.

However, this attitude didn't last far into my first battle of my fourth round battle. I was facing off against Heather "The Untouchable" McGundy on the grass field at one o'clock. Television broadcasters swarmed around her almost everywhere she went. Heather was not only famous for being a talented Pokemon trainer, but she also happened to be the governor's daughter. She was also a master in numerous forms of martial arts and a prestigious gymnast.

When I entered the stadium the seats were nearly filled. Several factions in the audience shouted Heather McGundy's name repeatedly and all the voices in the crowd blended together like one, constant, buzzing roar. It almost sounded like a neighbor mowing their lawn in the distance.

I gulped in pure terror. My whole body quivered from nervousness, my heart pounded like a bongo drum, and my stomach rumbled like a bulldozer was smashing its way out from within me. I had never battled in front of so many people before. I had a feeling karma was getting its sweet revenge for me acting so arrogant earlier in the contest. I regretted it deeply.

The battle started off with Heather sending out her Victreebell. After Growlithe defeating it with a few fire attacks, I began to feel a little better and more confident once again. I had a feeling that Heather selected all grass type Pokemon to use because of the terrain we were battling on. This obviously gave my fire type Pokemon a massive advantage. However, my hope was cut short when "The Untouchable" sent out her next Pokemon. It was an enormous, brown vulture with an extremely sharp and lengthy beak. Dexter informed me that it was a Fearow. The bird was unfathomably fast and managed to dodge each flamethrower and take down that was sent its way. I finally understood why this girl was called "The Untouchable". Her Pokemon were lightening fast and evaded every attack that came their way. Next, Heather mixed things up with a couple moves of her own.

"What you don't know is that my Growlithe has some pep in his step as well," I sneered.

Fearow swooped down from the sky and poked its bill every which way. Growlithe hopped out of the way and dashed in circles to tire Fearow out. I came up with a plan. I ordered Growlithe to quickly turn about and bite Fearow right on the beak. Heather opened her mouth to shout a warning, but Growlithe had already trapped the bird Pokemon in its jaw.

Fearow flapped its wings forcefully, lifting Growlithe a few inches off the grass turf. The vulture-like Pokemon screeched shrilly, causing the audience to cover their ears from the piercing cries. To end this, I commanded Growlithe to swing Fearow up in the air and hit it with a fire blast. Fearow was burnt to a crisp and plunged to earth from exhaustion.

The audience slowly began to betray Heather and her fame and started to clap and cheer for me. This made me feel fantastic, and even more determined to win against this overrated, ninja-wannabe. But I had no idea what I was soon in for. "The Untouchable" threw her third and final Pokeball. The maroon and silver storage device contained a yellow alien with a mustache. The odd and distorted looking Pokemon held a silver spoon in each hand and golden armor enveloped each of its joints.

_Alakazam is the most intelligent Pokemon known to man. Its IQ exceeds 5,000. Alakazam's memory is so superb, it can recall everything it has experienced since birth._

"Alakazam, start things off with psychic," Heather commanded.

Growlithe tried to out run the purple wave of energy, but the psychic attack barged into the puppy Pokemon and knocked him out. Next, I gave Feraligatr a shot at defeating this powerful menace. Feraligatr shot a few water guns at Alakazam, but the monster just teleported afar. Now I really comprehended the meaning of Heather's nickname. It was impossible to hit her Alakazam so long as it had a place to teleport to.

"That's it!" I exclaimed happily. "Sorry Feraligatr, but if I need your help again I'll send you back out," I told it as the red beam of light sucked the crocodile back inside its Pokeball.

In order to have my plan work, first, I released Charmander from its Pokeball. Heather McGundy teased me about how puny Charmander was compared to Alakazam, but I wasn't worried about size. Second, I ordered Charmander to shoot numerous flamethrowers at Alakazam, so Heather wouldn't suspect that I'm up to anything. I added in a small number of scratch attacks and leers so things wouldn't appear routine. Of course, Alakazam dodged each one by using teleport. Then, I instructed to Charmander that he light the entire field on fire. By the look on her face, Heather did not expect this.

Soon, the entire grass battling field was engulfed in flames, excluding two small patches where Charmander and Alakazam stood. Audience members looked at the people beside them and whispered, wondering what I was up to and worried that this blaze was growing out of control. Charmander could handle the heat a lot better than Alakazam could, and eventually, the fire purged his small area of land. I knew with his higher intelligence, Alakazam would teleport away so he wouldn't be absorbed by fire. Thus, moments later, Alakazam materialized inches away from the out-of-bounds line. With a swing of the referee's flags, Alakazam was announced illegally out of bounds and I was the winner.

At first, the crowd couldn't believe it. Everyone was silent until all of the sudden they erupted into lively and vivacious cheering. I quickly recalled Charmander safely from the flames then turned to enjoy my showering of approval from the spectators. This battle most certainly taught me to never underestimate my adversaries again. In other words, I really needed to stop acting like a haughty jerk.

I hadn't realized that I made to the Indigo League until I met up with Jackson and Penny outside the stadium about ten minutes later. Penny was jumping up and down in excitement and at first I wasn't sure why. After a five minute rambling session, Penny finally reminded me that I was one of sixteen prominent trainers to make it to the Indigo League. Tears of absolute joy drew to my eyes as I began to hop up and down as well.

Later that night, we discovered the house to be a lot emptier than it was before. Alls that remained in the enormous log cabin were Aiden, Penny, Jackson and I. When we got home, Aiden informed us that the old weirdo that locked himself in his bedroom got eliminated, and so did the two other girls. However, the mysterious sixth competitor of our household had yet to show up. It didn't matter anyway, they wouldn't be allowed to enter this far into the competition. I was a bit delighted that they had never showed up. This meant one less person that got in the way of my goal.

To celebrate how far we'd all gotten, the four of us went out to supper. Aiden, Penny, and I were starving because none of us had eaten anything that day. Jackson tried to convince Penny to let us go back to that Chinese restaurant we went to days before, but she refused to revisit the place of her abashing past. Instead, we went to a pizza place and ordered a large pepperoni.

"Oh my god, you have got to be kidding me," Penny muttered, covering her face slightly with her hand.

"What's wrong?" I leaned over the table and asked in a whisper.

"That girl and her friends are over there," she articulated towards the booth the group was sitting at.

I peered over to see the same beach, preppy snob Penny had totally burned the other day. She was surrounded by her thick-headed jocks and petite, girly sidekicks. They all erupted into laughter and Jackson noticed what we were staring at.

"Oh man, Penny, isn't that that girl?" questioned Jackson in a chuckle.

Penny crossed her arms and muffled angrily, "Yeah, she's the brat that tripped me."

We finished our pizza and all of us were pleasantly full. The cheese was melted perfectly, the crust was doughy and warm, and there was just the right amount of tomato sauce. The sun had set and the shinning moon hung high in the sky. I glanced outside the window beside our booth to see the streets lit up with gala, colorful lanterns. They looked like accordions with swivel designs printed on each one. It appeared like some sort of festivity was about to begin because trainers and tourists of all ages gathered on the sidewalks of the streets.

The four of us decided to go check it out. Penny pulled out her chair in order to get up while holding her half full glass of root beer. As she got up and spun around, Penny whacked into somebody, spilling her soda all over them. All of our jaws dropped when we saw it was the girl Penny had gotten into a spat with three days before.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry," Penny apologized sincerely. Penny yanked some napkins from the dispenser and hastily handed them to the girl.

"Watch where you're going, seaweed," the girl snarled, refusing to take the paper napkins.

"Seaweed?" Penny questioned, her manner altering to a more annoyed tone.

"That's what you are," she replied with a devilish grin. She turned her head and commented to her friends, "I mean seriously, look at her all green get-up,"

"You're insulting my outfit?" Penny pulled back in surprise. "At least it doesn't look like I peed my pants," Penny insulted, eyeing the girl's thighs which now had large wet spots running down them.

"I swear, if I ever run into you again, it'll definitely be something worth peeing your pants for," the girl admonished.

I stood there for a moment and thought about it, I looked around to see everyone was baffled by her comment.

"What are you even implying?" Penny asked her.

The girl shouted angrily, "It means I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Yeah right," Penny taunted.

Jackson stepped between the two and tried to reconcile the girls, "Alright, I'm not one to stop a hot girl fight, but let's just get out of here."

We left the restaurant to see a parade patrolling through the streets. A plethora of different colored fireworks exploded in the air and sprinkled the dark sky with an assortment of tiny, bright flecks. I could see each trainer's eyes sparkle as they viewed the display of giant Pokemon balloons and floats passing before them. The roads of the Pokemon Village were not only filled with waving people in cars, but exuberance and joy. After viewing the parade, we heard about this play they were putting on in the Pokemon Village Theater. Since we had nothing else to do, we decided to go check it out.

Entry to the show was free and people mostly around age nineteen and below gathered in the theater to witness the play "Pokemon in Love". Some how, Penny was hungry again so we jumped into the concession stand line. The line was extremely long and unsystematic and I could spot people letting their friends cut us other people in line. There were only three people working at the concession stand and two of them looked like they had never even seen a cash register, never mind used one. Eventually, we made it to the front and Penny ordered enough food for a lifetime. One food item she bought was a blue raspberry icee, which is a delicious, fruity, frozen beverage.

"That's the last of the icee mix," the boy at the food stand told Penny.

Penny accepted her drink and other comestibles. We all wheeled around to get out of the way of the next customer, who just happened to be Penny's favorite person. The girl looked absolutely fumed, with her fists rattling and her face burning red.

She made a smacking sound with her lip gloss covered lips and asked, "You took the last icee?"

Penny replied immediately, "Didn't you see the sign? It says no bitches allowed,"

"What's that? I'm sorry, I couldn't understand you. I don't speak whore," the preppy girl smirked.

"Lauren Conrad called. She said she wants her fake personality back," Penny fired back.

"You know I would beat you up, but it would just humiliate you," remarked the girl pompously.

"I'd like to see you try," Penny challenged.

"I don't feel like wasting my time," the girl told her.

"That's okay, I promise I won't take long kicking your butt," Penny sneered.

I tried to step in, "Guys, stop this. There's no need to fight. Let's just forgive and forget. Just move along,"

The girl rolled her eyes, "She probably plays dirty anyway,"

Penny screamed some sort of battle cry. It was so loud it shook the building and almost shattered the glass windows. Everyone in the lobby turned their heads to see what the commotion was all about. Trainers and tourists surrounded the scene as Penny charged towards the girl.

"Why don't you find out for yourself, bitch?!" Penny shouted, leaping onto the girl's back, causing the both of them to collapse on the ground.

The two rolled on top of each other back and forth on the ground, tugging at one another's hair. Penny yelled nonsense after the girl bit her on the arm. Next, Penny pinned her on the ground and slapped the girl vehemently many times on the cheeks. Finally, the two got back on their feet and Penny's opponent punched her square in the face. A few specks of blood shot from Penny's nose, but she quickly fought back by capturing the girl in a headlock and stomping numerous times on her toes.

The girl freed herself and they stood apart from one another, glaring in pure hatred and breathing heavily. On countless occasions, I tried to step in and stop the fight before they got in trouble, but it was useless. I attempted at calming them down one last time and as Penny and the girl charged at one another the girl scratched me on the shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for? That's it. Penny, kick this girl's ass!" I encouraged angrily.

The room was filled with shouting and cheering as the girls continued to clash. Employees from the concession stand also tried to stop them, but they were still going at it. Eventually, three police officers, two men and one Officer Jenny, appeared and separated the wrestling twosome.

"What is going on here?!" Officer Jenny demanded, looking at the two teenagers for answers. When she spoke, the entire room silenced from her supreme authority.

"Man, right when they were getting sweaty," a boy next to Jackson pouted.

"I feel your pain, dude," Jackson sympathized.

Penny spat some blood onto the carpet and wheezed, "She started it,"

"Are you kidding me?!" the girl panted. "You're the one who launched onto my back!"

The crowd's volume increased and Penny started to bicker with the girl over who started the brawl. Officer Jenny shouted once again to quiet the lobby.

"I don't care who started it. The Pokemon League does not stand for this sort of behavior. I'm afraid I have no choice but to disqualify you both from the competition," Officer Jenny declared.

"What?!" the two exclaimed in unison.

"I'm sorry, but there are consequences for unruly types of conduct. Now there's nothing else to see here. Everyone please disperse or enter the theater. The play will proceed as scheduled," Officer Jenny announced. "I'm going to have to ask you ladies to leave the theater. You are permitted to stay and watch the remainder of the competition, but if any of my officers or I catch either of you causing anymore trouble, you will be banned from the Pokemon Village," warned Officer Jenny.

"We're sorry that we caused such a ruckus and disturbance," I told the blue haired policewoman.

Penny remained quiet for the rest of the night, which was very unlike her. She sat in the corner of the living room, staring down at the floor completely filled with ire.

When the four of us, Jackson, Aiden, Penny, and I headed to bed, Penny whispered to me, "Now that I'm out, you have to win this… win it for the both of us,"

I smiled, "I'll try my best."

**A/N: In case you were wondering, I was previously referencing the genius of LittleKuriboh from Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! ******


	77. Emotional Escape

Chapter 77

"Wow, would you look at these two?" Penny said the next morning, smiling ear to ear.

The four of us sat at the dinning room table enjoying our breakfast. The beams of light blooming from the sun stretched through the glass windows above our heads and shone on our faces pleasantly. Everything felt so euphoric and jubilant that day. The day's aura made it feel like nothing could possibly go wrong. Everything and everywhere just seemed right.

"I can't believe you guys are two of just sixteen to make it to the Indigo League," Penny sighed, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

Jackson added sadly, "It's too bad you got in that fight, or else you'd be in it with them,"

Penny shrugged, "I'm done dwelling on the past. Besides, that girl needed an attitude adjustment,"

"It just happened yesterday, Penny," I reminded her, after taking a bite of bagel. "I'm surprised you're not still upset about it… or going off on a ten minute rampage like you normally would."

Jackson and Aiden chuckled and Penny eyed them crossly.

"It's a new day and it's a new me," Penny insisted, waving her croissant through the air as she proceeded to make numerous hand gestures. "I'm ready to enjoy the rest of the competition and cheer on my best buddy and my newest friend," she told our group.

"Hey, that reminds me, we've never seen you battle before, Aiden," I mentioned, changing the subject. "When's your first match? We'd love to go see you battle,"

"Yeah, you must be pretty flippin' good to make this far, especially for a kid your age," Penny commented.

Aiden explained, "Well, there's a day off between the first four rounds and the next four rounds. The first four rounds, as you know, take place on the four different fields. The last four rounds are between the top sixteen trainers, who must use six Pokemon instead of just three. We don't find out who we're facing off against until tomorrow morning. You go to the registration building, pick a Magikarp, and what ever number is on that Magikarp, you are matched up with that numbered trainer."

"Man, all of this sounds so complicated," I moaned, scratching my head to relieve its ache.

"It's really not that difficult," Aiden smiled understandingly. "Then, who ever makes it to the finals have to battle one another. Who ever wins that match is declared the winner of the competition and from that moment on is known as the Indigo League Champion. Unless someone defeats them and takes the title of course,"

Jackson looked at the young child in bewilderment, "God, how do you know all of this?" he asked.

Aiden grinned proudly, "I read the Pokemon League Handbook while on my travels. I figured if I was going to enter, I might as well know as much as I can about the competition,"

"Ewww reading books?" Penny stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Now that's dedication,"

"So we have the rest of the day off?" I asked again just to clarify.

"Yep," Aiden nodded. "Just one day to get all rested and prepared for the next two busiest days of our lives,"

"Only two days?!" I exclaimed, slamming my hands to the table in shock.

"Until the semi-finals," Aiden finished.

I stood there for a moment hovering over the table. I could feel my breakfast beginning to find its way back up my throat. My heart felt like it stopped and everything around me melted until I landed in this deep, ominous, dark hole. My vision blurred and my head ached. I had that feeling when you get up too quickly you lose your balance and sense of where you're going.

Suddenly, the log cabin surrounded me once again and I nearly knocked over the dinning chair in front of me. The remnants of bagel slithered up my throat and nested an unpleasant and sour taste on my tongue.

"Hey Kylie, are you okay?" Jackson asked, looking at me like I had two heads.

Penny poked her nose in my face and agreed, "Yeah, you don't look so good,"

"I think I just need to sit down," I panted with shortness of breath.

Penny politely fanned me with her dainty hands after sticking a straw in my orange juice so I could lean forward and take a sip.

"I'm sorry if I stressed you out or made you worried or anything," Aiden apologized kindheartedly.

Even though it was basically his fault for telling me all this information at once like a ton of bricks, I told Aiden it was alright. It wasn't completely his fault. I should've known all of this ahead of time. After a couple seconds, my vision replenished and I felt less queasy. However, I felt more stressed and unprepared than ever. I thought back to how just days before I couldn't have been anymore confident, now I just wanted to get up and run as fast as I could. But the only thing I really wished for at that moment was Owen. If he were he'd have something funny to say to make me feel better.

Later that afternoon, I was in my room lying on my bed in the darkness. My head rested on the palm of my hands as my elbows stuck outward. Some light from the beautiful sunshine broke through the shades and extended onto the carpet flooring. Alls I could hear was the creaking of the wooden panels that supported the large log cabin. I peered over to my left to gaze upon the six Pokeballs that sat on my nightstand. I thought about all of the training and hard work my Pokemon and I had been through. Was it all worth it? Were we ready to face off against fifteen of the best Pokemon trainers from around the world?

My doubtful thoughts were put to a stop when I suddenly heard the knob on the door shift back and forth. I sat up in my bed to see Penny enter the room with a satisfied smile across her face.

"Jackson and I are going shopping in town so he can tell me how pretty I am over and over no matter what outfit I put on. Want to come?" Penny invited thoughtfully.

I sighed, "As much fun as that sounds, I think I'll pass,"

Penny grunted irritably, "You know lying in the dark all day acting emo isn't going to do you any good. It's really nice outside and I'm trying to be a good friend by cheering you up and taking you out. I don't know why you're so depressed anyways. You made it this far so obviously you're good enough to compete. Sheesh, if I were you I don't even know how I'd be able to control the joy within me," Penny ranted. She grunted again angrily after I declined to reply, "Well here's something you might want to think about as you sit in the dark. Maybe you should think of all the people in the world that would kill to be where you are right now, one of them including me."

She exited the room and slammed the door behind her. I rested my head back on the pillow and thought about it for the rest of the afternoon.

That night, Penny dragged me out of bed and the four of us watched the news which was covering details about the Pokemon League. They were listing all of the trainers which had made it to the next four rounds and we discovered that Zane Oak was one of them. None of the other names sounded familiar.

"So, ol' Zane made his way to the top as well," Penny stated, stretching her legs over my lap.

"_We had a word with the prestigious, young man just minutes after he defeated his fourth opponent on the ice field," _the newswoman said. The television screen next showed Zane commenting on the pressure of the competition.

"_Some trainers let it get to them but personally I think that shows just how weak and pathetic they truly are. If you can't handle the heat then stop wasting your time now and quit while you can,"_ said Zane.

That's when I did it. I pushed Penny's legs off of me and headed for the door. I started off just walking briskly, my face expressionless with no signs of regret. Then, I heard rapid footsteps behind me and shouting coming from the door of our log cabin. I looked behind me, trying to turn my head as little as I could, to see Penny and Jackson chasing after me. I began to sprint almost as fast as I could. My sneakers were pounding against the pavement and some small strands of hair were whipping me in the face. I brushed them aside and continued to run and follow the main road of the Pokemon Village.

My two friends were just behind me. I was falling short of breath and my heart was pounding a million beats per second. Cramps started to develop on both of my sides but I couldn't stop running. It was as if my body was gravitating towards the nearest exit.

"Kylie, what the hell are you doing?!" Penny shouted in a pant.

"Where are you going?!" Jackson yelled subsequently.

"Stop running!" Penny ordered. "That's it!" Penny finally gave in.

Out of no where, the teenage girl launched forward and tackled me to the ground. My body scrapped against the pavement and I could feel stinging along my thighs and one of my cheeks. My face was planted into the ground, tiny pebbles of rock stabbing my sensitive skin. Penny lay on top of me, all of her body weight crushing me into the ground, but at that moment I did not care. The only thing I could think about was catching my breath. We laid there for a couple minutes, breathing heavily and regaining our strength. Jackson reached us and caught his breath as well while placing his hands on his knees.

Finally, Penny got off me while asking angrily, "What the heck are you doing?"

"Escaping," I answered bluntly.

"From what? Is there some alien attack about to happen that we don't know about?" Jackson interrogated.

I replied quietly, "No,"

"Then what the heck is your problem?" Penny asked again, shoving my shoulders irritably.

I bowed my head against my chest and responded sadly, "I'm not ready,"

The two let out an irritated groan. Penny tossed her arms up in the air and Jackson rolled his eyes. I knew they were sick of me saying that, but they were the ones who kept asking.

I got enraged as well. I began to explain to them, "You guys have no idea what I'm going through! You think you do, but you don't. Everyone keeps telling me it's no big deal and I shouldn't feel this panicked, but it's the top freakin' sixteen of the freakin' Pokemon League for crying out loud!" I proclaimed. "How am I supposed to go to this thing tomorrow knowing that if I make one freakin' mistake my life is over and I have to go home packing? I don't want to end up making one simple mistake and have that be my downfall. I don't want that to be the reason I never achieved my goal. If I went home and looked my parents in the eye and told them that I lost because of one stupid thing, I don't know if I could ever look at myself again,"

"You're doing it right now, Kylie," Penny remarked.

"Doing what?"

"You're making that one stupid mistake right now. Wouldn't you feel even worse going home to your mom and dad saying that you quit?"

"It's better to try than do nothing at all," Jackson added.

"But I can't!" I exhaled, covering my face with my hands.

Penny stomped over and grabbed the collar of my shirt, "Okay, I don't know how many times we're going to have to tell you this, because you're either deaf or a really big attention whore. You can do this, Kylie. Now shut up and let's go home."

I knelt on the ground and soon felt awful for annoying my friends and being such a bother to them. I apologized but refrained from moving. Jackson and Penny turned to walk away but they noticed I was still on the ground. They walked over and knelt beside me. I felt the doubt within me wash away as two of my closest friends wrapped their arms around my shoulders comfortingly. Although, I felt as if someone were missing.

Penny looked into my eyes and said, "You know, I'm beginning to think it's something else that's truly bothering you. Do you have anything you need to tell us? Because I know that I always feel better after talking for a long, long, long, long, long, LONG, long time. Like one time, I got home from this camping trip with my old friend in the seventh grade. It was like ten at night but that didn't stop me from complaining and telling my mom about the entire thing. My friend and I had gotten into this huge fight and after talking about it with my mom I felt so much better," Penny rambled speedily. I looked at the ground, hoping it might spell out the words I should say. Penny continued, "You know, I never said anything because I wasn't sure what happened but… where's Owen? How come he's not here with you?"

I sighed heavily and began to explain the entire situation. "Well, after Owen and I got to my house in Pallet Town he left. I went to visit him one day because my mom said he had called, but when I got to the address my mom wrote down for me, it was actually Lucien there waiting for me. Lucien is a member of Team Rocket by the way," I glanced up to see Penny and Jackson both have shocked expressions on their faces. "I'll tell that story some other day. Anyway, Lucien tried to take my Charmander. Long story short, Owen saved me and we went back to his house. A couple of days later we went to Owen's junior prom… where… he told me that," I stopped for a moment. My heart was racing and tears attempted to roll down my cheeks, but I tried my best to stay strong. I picked up a pile of dirt off the road and slowly released it from my hand. The wind carried the small particles feet away and I finally grew the courage to finish my story, "Owen told me that he loves me,"

"WHAT?!" Penny and Jackson exclaimed in unison.

Now I just felt silly. I felt like I was at a junior high sleepover telling a whole bunch of girls about some crush while playing a game of "truth or dare". But this was no crush.

"So what did you say? Did you say 'I love you' back?" Jackson asked in deep interest.

"God you're such a pansy," Penny ridiculed, elbowing Jackson painfully in the ribs, practically knocking him over.

"It all happened so fast. Before I could say anything… he just turned around and left. Next thing I knew his grandpa was telling me that he left on a trip around Hoenn with Amber," I finished.

"What a bitch!" Penny exclaimed. "Owen is your man. That ho needs to step down,"

"He is technically dating her you know?" I pointed out.

"So do you love him or not?" Jackson asked, leaning in closely.

"Yeah, do you or not?" Penny questioned eagerly.

As I opened my mouth to answer, we heard someone above us clear their throat. The three of us peered up to see an Officer Jenny aiming a flashlight at us. She asked if we were all okay and we said yes. She next advised us not to sit in the middle of the road unless we wanted to get run over. We headed back to the house to get a full night's sleep for the busy day tomorrow. After telling Jackson and Penny all of that, I did feel a lot better. Penny was right, it was another problem that was bothering me. In the end, I never got to tell them my answer, but in my heart I knew what it was.


	78. Explosive Encounters

**A/N: Sorry everyone for the last couple of weeks without any updates, but here's the new chapter! Enjoy! :D**

Chapter 78

The next morning Penny, Jackson, Aiden, and I visited the Registration Building in order to find out who Aiden and I would be battling that day during our first round at the Indigo Plateau. The large room which used to have the registration counter where Ronnie and a few other women sat at had disappeared and dispersed through out the spacious room were little pools of fresh water. Ronnie and the other women stood by the tanks, which contained numerous Magikarp, with a computer by their side.

We found Ronnie in the far left corner. She smiled broadly as we approached her. I think we were starting to become some of her favorite trainers. Jackson's Rattata leapt off his back and dashed around the room, stopping at any person's ankles to receive some sort of attention.

Ronnie handed me a fishing rod and a menu appeared on the screen of her computer showing the numbers of each trainer. Eight of the sixteen Pokemon competitors had their picture on the screen with a number below it. If you were not one of those people on the monitor you were the one to take a fishing rod, catch a Magikarp, and what ever number was on its scaly side was the trainer you were to battle against.

The only familiar face on the monitor was Aiden's and he was number eleven. Right then I figured out that it would be impossible for me to battle against Zane in this round since neither of our pictures were up on the screen, so neither of us would be able to draw the other's number. This was perfectly fine with me. My mind flashed back to just weeks ago when I faced his astonishingly powerful Slowpoke. Its strength was uncomprehensible and I was somewhat relieved that I wouldn't have to go up against that again.

I took a moment to inspect my competition which was displayed on the computer screen. I was a little bit surprised to see that I was one of only three girls to make it to the top sixteen. Aiden, Zane, and I were probably the youngest ones. Aiden was obviously the youngest of them all since he was just ten, which still astounds me to this day.

Finally, I dipped the fishing rod into the pool of water and waited for a Magikarp to bite. Almost five minutes past until one of the dimwitted goldfish bit onto the fishing line, but it felt like it had taken an hour. I quickly heaved the giant, red fish out of the water and held it as high as I could without breaking my arms. The Magikarp was a lot heavier than it looked.

"The number you have drawn is… six," Ronnie determined.

"Alright, lucky number six," I nodded in approval, looking up at the computer screen to see who I would be battling.

The monitor zoomed in on the twenty year old girl's photo and informed me that her name was Lian Sun.

"When do I find out who I'm going up against?" Aiden asked Ronnie.

"Well, my sources tell me that you've just been selected by another trainer from a tank near by. There's going to be a meeting in the dinning hall at the League Administration Center in one hour. All of the top sixteen will be there to meet one another and get to talk with their opponent before their match," Ronnie explained delightfully.

"Sounds great," responded Aiden.

The four of us said our good-byes to Ronnie and made our way towards the League Administration Center. The building looked like a large two story community center on the outside. We followed some arrows and found ourselves inside the dining hall. The room had beautiful, expensive looking hardwood floors and the walls were covered with elegant, plum wallpaper with fancy floral designs swirling on the walls. A long table sat in the middle of the huge room which contained an assortment of appetizers and hor derves, although, no one seemed to be eating them. About thirty people were distributed through out the room, some mingling but others standing around waiting for something to happen. I assumed that about half of them were the rest of the top sixteen.

"Can you believe that half of these people won't even be here tomorrow?" Jackson asked.

"Let's just hope I'm still around," I responded.

"You won't be once I'm done with you," a strange voice interrupted.

We turned around to be faced to face with the source of the voice. It was Lian Sun, glaring intensively at our group. She was tall and lean, with unhealthy looking arms and legs that were rather skinny. Lian wore a long, sleeveless, mustard yellow, brocade, Chinese dress. Her slick, black hair was pulled up into two buns on the side of her head with clumps of hair hanging from the chignons. Although she was exceedingly thin, she was very beautiful.

"Listen little girl, I'm not exactly thrilled in being forced to battle a scrawny little thing like you," Lian established rudely.

"I'm scrawny?" I pulled back, surprised in her choice of words.

Lian continued, "One thing I am looking forward to is wiping out all the female competition so I can show these men a thing or two,"

I decided to overlook my opponent's foulness and say politely, "Well, good luck." I placed my hand outward and offered her a handshake, but she declined the gesture and sauntered away haughtily.

"Little Scorch, is that you?" Zane asked in disbelief as he walked towards me. "I must be hallucinating,"

"Oh, like you haven't heard already," I crossed my arms skeptically.

"That you made it to the Indigo League? No, in fact, I haven't heard. You see, there is more important competition out there to concentrate on. Like your little friend right there," the blonde haired boy insisted while waving his hand towards Aiden. "That little munchkin is amazing. But you? No one is afraid of you. I mean did you listen to how that Lian chick talked to you? You let her walk all over you,"

"Why does it almost sound like you're trying to help me?"

"That absurd deed would never cross my mind," Zane assured me, narrowing his eyes guardedly. "But even if I did help you- I mean I'm no miracle worker, you'd still be as pathetic as the day you started," Zane taunted. He slowly began to walk away and murmured while doing so, "But you better watch your back there, Little Scorch. You know that saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? Well, that Aiden kid might be slipping you the detonator."

Zane slipped his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and walked away while whistling. You could hear his boots clank against the wood floor as he strolled past the food table.

I quickly redirected my attention to Aiden. I watched him from the corners of my eyes, seeing him talking casually with Penny and Jackson. Zane was right. This Aiden kid was awfully friendly to us and it did seem a bit strange that a mature ten year old hung around with a bunch of teenagers like ourselves. What if he was just using us to get the inside scoop on trainers we knew like Zane? What if he was just playing us in order to get the details on trainers that we battled that could possibly beat us, so if he ever had to face them he'd know exactly what to do to win? The more we hung around with this kid the more suspicious I grew.

Then I thought: What if Zane was just messing with me? What if he was acting like my friend to get inside my head? What if he was telling me all of this nonsense just to distract me? I shook my head back to reality. I had to stop concentrating on these meaningless quandaries and focus on my upcoming battle.

It was an hour before the first match of the day would begin so our gang headed back to our log cabin. To our surprise, we saw a group of people standing at the front door. When we approached them, I realized it was my parents, Professor Oak, and Delia Ketchum.

"Hi, honey!" my mother squealed, racing towards me with her arms out. She trapped me in a giant hug which practically snapped me in half because she was squeezing me so tightly. As she released me from her arms, my mother began to tear up, "Kylie, I am just so proud of you. I would've never thought you would make it all the way to the top sixteen. Not that I don't believe in you or anything. It was just such a delight we had to visit you and see your matches in person,"

My father chuckled, "Your mother basically said it all. Kylie, we've been watching all your battles on TV, as you know, and let me say I am so impressed with how you've improved,"

"Thanks mom and dad," I beamed.

"Hello, Kylie, how have you been?" Ms. Ketchum asked me politely.

I replied, "I'm doing well. I'm a little nervous but otherwise I think I'm okay,"

"It's okay to be a little nervous. It keeps you aware and alert," said Ms. Ketchum.

Professor Oak stepped forward with a Pokeball in his hand. "I have some sad but good news for you, Kylie," he started.

"What's that, professor?"

"Well, the other day I received a message on my phone when I was out tending to the Pokemon in the fields. It was a woman named… Tabitha I think it was,"

"Why does that name sound familiar?" I muttered to myself while tapping my chin.

Professor Oak continued, "She claimed to have your Butterfree. She said that you stopped by one day and your Butterfree fell in love with one of hers, so you let it stay there. Well, the sad part is, when she released the couples of Butterfree to lay their eggs over the ocean, the Butterfree your Butterfree fell in love with went back to her old mate. Your Pokemon became so heart broken that it grew aggressive and angry. She didn't know what to do but then she remembered you and how you were a Pokemon trainer. She figured that if Butterfree were to fight in a few battles, he might feel less forlorn,"

"You mean that's Butterfree's Pokeball right there!?" I exclaimed, stunned.

"Indeed it is. I brought it just in case you might want to use him in your next battle. I know specializing in a specific type of Pokemon can be challenging, especially against trainers that might have a lot of Pokemon that your Pokemon are weak against, so I thought Butterfree might be a nice asset in your matches to come," Professor Oak finished before handing me the Pokeball. I accepted the Pokeball gratefully and thanked the famous professor.

At noon the first round of the Indigo Plateau began. The first two matches had ended and mine was up next. I stood in the dark tunnel that led out into the stadium where the field was. As the announcer called for Lian and I to enter the stadium I placed my official Pokemon League hat on my head for good luck.

When the two of us stepped into the daylight, the crowd went insane. I glanced around to see almost every seat contained a person. People chanted our names and cheered endlessly. The stadium was gigantic compared to the other ones. There was stadium seating all around the field with skyboxes above them. In the middle a small building was suspended over the seating where the announcer sat and declared the play-by-play, and this time the announcer was actually happy to be here. He riled up the audience by playing different techno music which made you want to get up and dance.

The entire field was made of dark, compact dirt and on each end were the Pokemon trainer podiums. The referee even had his own box to stand in. There were four massive flat screens on each of the stadium so if you were unable to see what was happening in the battle, the televisions would display a close up. There were also two more flat screens which showed me and Lian's pictures with our six boxes below each picture, representing how many usable Pokemon we had left.

Overall, I was just amazed at how many people were there to see us battle. The Indigo League attracted a lot more attention than the rounds before it. Finally, the moment came where the two of us scaled to the top of our podiums and readied our first Pokeballs.

The referee explained the regulations with much haste, "This will be a six on six match with no time limit. Let the battle begin!"

The referee swung his two flags and straight away Lian tossed her first Pokeball out onto the field. A boulder with two burly arms appeared and the announcer identified it as a Geodude. I would've selected my Feraligatr to go against her Geodude, but I was saving him in case a tougher challenge came later on. Instead, I chose Houndoom.

"Geodude, use rock throw," Lian ordered.

I quickly counteracted, "Dodge and use flamethrower,"

Geodude dug a chunk of earth out of the ground and chucked it at Houndoom with extreme force. However, since the attack was attempted so far away Houndoom easily evaded the rocky assault. Houndoom leapt forward, firmly placed his paws in the dirt, and fired his flamethrower. Geodude lifted another rock from out of the ground to shield himself from the attack and used it as his next weapon towards Houndoom. Houndoom ducked from the flying boulder and dashed towards Geodude to do a frontal maneuver. When Houndoom reached Geodude's side, Lian shouted the unexpected.

"Explosion!" she yelled victoriously.

Within seconds Geodude was flashing white and seconds after that, the ground shook like an earthquake and nearly knocked me off my feet. The center of the field erupted into flames and a loud boom echoed through out the stadium. I covered my face with my arm from the layer of smoke that exhaled from the explosion. When the smog cleared we saw Houndoom and Geodude both unconscious and on the ground. The referee declared them both unable to battle. The audience wasn't sure what to think.

Next, Lian selected her Pineco and I chose Growlithe. First, I instructed to Growlithe that he use flamethrower. Lian told her Pineco to use bide but I had never heard of this move before. I kept telling Growlithe to use flamethrower when all of the sudden, Pineco burst with white light. Growlithe flew back and skid across the ground, but was able to get up. The puppy Pokemon struggled to stay standing with his legs wobbling after taking that hard hit, but Growlithe hung in there.

"Growlithe, use flame tornado!" I shouted.

I was excited about this. No one knew this move but us since we made it up together. I knew this was going to work since Lian wouldn't even know what it was. I was confident all the way up until Lian told her Pineco to use selfdestruct. Once again the earth shook thunderously as Pineco lit up and exploded, sending Growlithe soaring through the air. Growlithe flipped numerous times before landing on the ground motionless. The referee announced that both Growlithe and Pineco were unable to battle any longer.

I bit my bottom lip nervously. I was trying my hardest out there but Lian kept outdoing me with her stupid explosions. Two of my Pokemon were already knocked out and who knows what Pokemon she still had left to use. She was probably using this tactic to eliminate some of my best Pokemon.

"Keep 'em coming, Kylie," Lian challenged condescendingly through the intercom.

The next brawl was between Lian's Solrock and my Feraligatr. This time I was confident we'd win since water types have a big advantage over rock types. I started things off with hydro pump in order to dampen the field so Solrock couldn't pick any rocks out of the ground. Solrock used confusion which sent a wave of purple cosmic energy towards Feraligatr. The wave hit Feraligatr and sent him stumbling back. I ordered Feraligatr to counter with slash but instead he scratched himself on the face.

"Feraligatr, what are you doing? Attack that thing not yourself!" I shouted, pointing to Solrock while trying to snap my Pokemon back to reality.

"It appears Feraligatr has become confused from Solrock's psychic attack," the announcer proclaimed.

"Feraligatr, use water gun!" I ordered in frustration.

Feraligatr shook its head, trying to cleanse itself from confusion. Feraligatr began to charge towards Solrock with its head bowed forward.

"No Feraligatr, I said water gun not tackle," I slapped my palm to my forehead.

As Feraligatr approached Solrock, Lian instructed, "Explosion!"

For the third time, the stadium shook and one of Lian's Pokemon exploded, causing immense damage to my Pokemon. Feraligatr toppled to the ground, landing on his stomach. Following his eruption, Solrock looked burnt to a crisp and settled into the moist dirt after fainting. The referee lifted both flags in the air the third time that match and declared that both Pokemon could no longer battle.

I gritted my teeth in aggravation, "Now I see why you made it so far, Lian. You're not a Pokemon trainer. You just toss a monster out onto the field so long as it knows explosion or selfdestruct. Your ploys are cheap and despicable,"

"You watch your mouth," Lian admonished.

I derided, "What are you going to do? Selfdestruct?"

"You'll regret showing up to this match after facing my next Pokemon," Lian assured me, violently removing a Pokeball from her belt.

Lian and I threw our Pokeballs out onto the field at the same time. A large, silver beast with a horn on its head materialized from Lian's Pokeball and on the opposite side of the field Butterfree emerged from mine.

_Rhydon is the evolved form of Rhyhorn and is both ground and rock type. Its drill horn bores tunnels through solid rock._

Lian cocked her head back and laughed heartlessly, "Do you really expect that oversized bug to win you this battle? You've got no chance against my fierce Rhydon," Lian remarked confidently.

"We haven't battled together in a long while Butterfree, but let's prove her wrong!" I shouted to him, kindly ignoring Lian's comment.

"Use rock blast, Rhydon," demanded Lian.

"Use gust to blow the rocks away," I swiftly instructed.

As flying boulders soared towards Butterfree, the bug type Pokemon flapped its wings rapidly, creating a mini twister. The boulders were sucked up into the cyclone like a vacuum and spun round and round until the gusts died down. Next, I told Butterfree to use poison powder. The purple flecks of dust softly landed on Rhydon's hard exterior and inexplicably dissolved on its rocky skin. Rhydon soon looked sick and stuck its small, pink tongue out of its mouth. We finished things off with psybeam and Rhydon was declared unable to battle. The crowd cheered vivaciously as Butterfree fluttered around happily.

"Great job, Butterfree! Keep it up!" I praised.

Lian sent out her next Pokemon which was a Snorlax. After she released the giant, drowsy beast from its Pokeball, she informed me that Snorlax would have lots of energy since it just ate. However, I knew that Snorlax only woke up to eat once a month, so Snorlax was very lethargic. I directed Butterfree to use sleep powder on Snorlax. I had a feeling this would be extra affective since Snorlax were the slumbering Pokemon. Instantly, Snorlax rolled on its side and fell asleep. Lian's face grew red with rage. After a few confusions and psybeams, Snorlax was down and out.

Alls that remained was one Pokemon, and Butterfree looked as magnificent as ever. Lian pitched her last Pokeball of the match onto the terrain. It was a plum colored monster with numerous pores that exhaled a sickening gas. On its chest was a small skull and cross bones and the Pokemon smiled endlessly.

_Koffing is a poison type Pokemon with lighter-than-air gases in its body keeps it aloft. The gases not only smell, they are also explosive._

"So you think you're gonna end this quickly just by using explosion like you did all those other times?" I asked.

Lian narrowed her eyes, "I'm not stupid. If I were to make Koffing use explosion, it would eliminate my last Pokemon,"

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"You'll see," Lian snickered. "Alright Koffing, start things off with smog,"

Koffing released a vile green gas from the small holes that covered its body. The smog blanketed the field and I was unable to see either of our Pokemon. I thought of a plan in my head, but if I shouted instructions to Butterfree Lian would also be able to hear them, and if she did it would be way to obvious in what I was scheming. I stood there and surprisingly, Lian remained speechless as well. As long as she wasn't barking any orders this was my chance. Alls I could do was stand there and hope with all my might that Butterfree could somehow sense what I wanted him to do.

Moments later, I finally yelled to Butterfree to use whirlwind and deep inside me I was hoping with all my heart he was in the exact spot I wanted him to be in order to make my plan work. Butterfree cleared the haze with a flap of his wings, and to my delight he was fluttering just feet in front of Koffing.

"Both trainers seem hesitant like their waiting for the opportune moment to attack," the announcer observed.

"Now Butterfree, use tackle attack!" I commanded.

Butterfree speedily rammed into Koffing, who was still smiling away even after being barged into. Next, the butterfly-like Pokemon used stun spore to paralyze Koffing and to finish the match off Butterfree struck the motionless poison type Pokemon with a psybeam.

"Koffing can no longer battle. The winner is Kylie from Pallet Town!" the referee announced.

"Wow-wee you saw it here, folks!" the broadcaster exclaimed. "This match was neck-and-neck until Butterfree stepped into the ring and one, two, three knocked the rest of the competition out! Congratulations to Kylie Scorch!" the announcer boomed in excitement.

The crowd applauded energetically and some even gave me a standing ovation. I leapt off the podium and greeted Butterfree out in the middle of the turf. I hugged the giant bug tightly with tears of pride almost rolling down my cheeks. Butterfree purred quietly as I continued to squeeze my long time friend.

"You really proved yourself, Butterfree," I sniffled. "Who would've known that all this time apart we were still as great a team as we were before? I'm so proud of you, Butterfree."

After my match, I found my seat next to Penny, Jackson, my parents, Professor Oak, and Ms. Ketchum. Penny reserved my seat for me by putting her backpack on it. She even told me that she had to mouth off some overweight, middle aged man to keep it for me.

"So whose battling next?" I asked Jackson.

He turned his head and informed me, "It's Aiden against Zane,"

"Well, this should be interesting."


	79. Aiden The Astounding

Chapter 79

"Well folks, it looks like Zane here only has one Pokemon left. Let's see what he chooses," the announcer informed us.

"No mercy, Slowpoke!" exclaimed Zane as he tossed out his final Pokeball. A pink salamander-like Pokemon with a dopey expression appeared from the white light. I had faced Zane's Slowpoke before, and it was not a pleasant experience.

I leaned forward on my knees and commented, "Zane could actually make a comeback. His Slowpoke is almost invincible,"

"Yeah, but Aiden still has three Pokemon left to use including his Flareon," Jackson reminded me.

"True, but Butterfree and I defeated three Pokemon alone," I pointed out. "So if we can do it, Zane and his Slowpoke definitely can,"

"I heard that Zane's Slowpoke hasn't been beaten once in the competition," stated Jackson.

Professor Oak nodded with his arms crossed knowingly, "Indeed, Zane has spent a lot of time raising and caring for his Slowpoke. That doesn't mean Aiden won't be the first to defeat it though,"

"Do you think Zane has a chance, Professor Oak?" I asked curiously.

"Pokemon battles are so unpredictable and they seem to become more so the more talented the trainers are. You never know who has a plan up their sleeve," the famous professor enlightened us. "Whoever wins all depends on how logical their thinking is and how strategic their moves are. I believe Zane and Aiden both have a pretty equal chance at winning. We'll just have to see,"

"Use water pulse on Flareon," Zane commanded, sweat perspiring from his brow exposing how nervous he truly was.

Slowpoke shot a rush of water at the fire type Pokemon and of course it caused a great deal of damage. Aiden returned his fainted Flareon and Zane smirked, his haughty attitude returning. Aiden chucked his next Pokeball with a flick of the wrist. Out popped a yellow dragon with tiny teal wings.

_Dragonite is said to make its home in the sea. It guides crews from shipwrecks to shore, _Dexter reported.

"Dragonite, use agility," Aiden instructed.

I noticed that every time Aiden commanded one of his Pokemon to do something, he said it to them as if they were having a conversation. He said everything kindly almost like they didn't have to do it if they didn't want to.

Dragonite zipped around the field, circling Slowpoke in order to intimidate the Pokemon with its incredible speed. However, Slowpoke just glared forward with that silly smile on its face.

"Alright Dragonite, use slam," Aiden told him.

Dragonite swiftly tackled Slowpoke in the side and sent the water type flying across the field. Slowpoke shook the dirt off its skin and got back on its feet like nothing major just happened. Zane ordered Slowpoke to use confusion and meanwhile Aiden directed Dragonite to use thunder punch. As Slowpoke released a purple wave from its mouth Dragonite sent electricity surging through its arm. The wave of confusion soared towards Dragonite and the beast hurled its fist at the attack, creating a static explosion. Beams of violet and electricity lashed from the collision and made people in the audience squeal and duck for cover. Dragonite charged towards Slowpoke one more time to land its second attempt at a thunder punch. Zane immediately told Slowpoke to use water pulse. I hadn't realized how brilliant this was until Dragonite got drenched with water and ended up electrocuting itself.

Dragonite twirled to the ground and landed on its stomach. Aiden pleaded to his Pokemon that it get up and continue fighting. The injured Dragonite picked itself off the ground and stared at Slowpoke in determination. Aiden told Dragonite to use wing attack. Dragonite kicked its feet off the ground and launched itself aggressively into the air. Dragonite's little wings began to glow white and just as the dragon type Pokemon was going to land the assault, Zane told Slowpoke to use zen headbutt.

Purple and black strands of psychic energy collected around Slowpoke's cranium. When Dragonite reached Slowpoke's side to use wing attack, Slowpoke jumped forward and bashed its skull into Dragonite. Dragonite held its stomach in agony and stumbled back slightly. Next, Dragonite caught Slowpoke completely off guard, who was thinking that it had won this battle, by using thunder punch. Electricity flowed through out Slowpoke's body and caused it to fall on its side.

The referee declared that Zane's Pokemon was no longer able to battle and Aiden had won. All of our jaws dropped. I definitely thought Zane was going to last a lot longer in the competition than this. While it shocked me, I was pleased to know that I had made it further than he did. Meanwhile, as our group sat there in astonishment, the crowd cheered vivaciously for the young Pokemon trainer, Aiden.

About thirty minutes later, I ran into Zane outside the stadium. His head hung low and he appeared engrossed deeply in thought. I could tell he was processing the battle over and over in his head, wondering where he went wrong.

"Hey Zane, how you feeling?" I asked considerately.

Zane concealed his disappointment by attempting to sound like his typical smug self. He replied halfheartedly, "I feel fantastic. I feel better than you have or ever will,"

I watched him skeptically. I wasn't buying his fake cocky attitude. I could tell he was sincerely hurt.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I requested politely.

"Zane Oak does not talk. Zane Oak is one of action and adventure. I don't waste my time sitting around and talking about feelings and gum drops like you do, Little Scorch," Zane insisted. The light haired boy placed a helmet on his head and climbed onto his motor bike. "That kid got lucky. My Pokemon were just exhausted from kicking so much ass the four matches before today. You know, I bet he gives his Pokemon steroids or something. It was kind of ridiculous. Anyway Little Scorch, this fall I'm thinking about traveling around the Johto region and competing in that Pokemon League. If this whole thing doesn't work out for you, you should consider it as well,"

"Yeah, maybe," I told him.

"I was disappointed that we didn't get to battle each other. I was really looking forward to kicking your butt again," Zane cackled. Then the teenage boy reconsidered, "Actually Little Scorch, don't even bother visiting Johto. Save yourself the embarrassment," Zane leaned in closely and glared me in the eyes. "Because I am and will always be better than you. And you would have no hope in winning,"

"Oh yeah, I wasn't going to say anything loser boy, but whose the one that made it further in the competition? Huh? Yeah, that's right. I did," I taunted irritably.

Zane just laughed. He started up his motorcycle and skidded across the road. The tires made a deafening shriek against the pavement and left black marks on the tar.

Zane shouted his final good-bye as he drove off, "Smell ya later!"

That night Jackson, Penny, Aiden, and I sat on the couch watching a news report on TV about the final eight participants. The adults were out somewhere some place.

_"Well folks, the Indigo League is winding down and today the final eight were established after numerous rounds of intense battling. Xavier, Timothy, Ryan, Vincent, Aiden, Kylie, Kennedy, and Dakota are the eight contenders that remain and each of them is a remarkable talent. Here's Bob with more details on each of these young trainers,_" a newswoman broadcasted.

_"Thank you, Susan. Well, I guess it's best to start off with the first winner of the day which was Xavier. This young man is just seventeen and has entered three other Pokemon competitions. He is also a well-known partaker in contests. Timothy is another young chap who made it to the top sixteen in the Hoenn League at the age of just fourteen. Ryan was the sixth winner in today's matches and he specializes in steel type Pokemon. Vincent is a twenty-two year old man who has collected every badge available in the Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and of course the Kanto regions. Kylie is a talented young lady who is the only female contender left in the competition. At the age of fifteen she specializes in fire type Pokemon_._Kennedy is eighteen and has made it to the top eight and this is his first time entering a Pokemon League. And last but not least Dakota is twenty-nine and has also won a number of contests through out the Hoenn region,_" Bob, the newsman, explained.

"Awww, that's too bad. They forgot to talk about Aiden," Penny pointed out.

Aiden shrugged, "It's no big deal. I don't care," the young child leapt off the couch. "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom,"

Aiden left the room and unexpectedly, the news report on all the Pokemon trainers continued.

_"Now, you may be thinking we left one trainer out but this young boy deserves to be mentioned on his own. Aiden has been said to be the one to look out for in this competition,_" Susan reported.

"_Yes, Aiden entered his first Pokemon League at the age of six and has traveled all four regions of the world and made it to the Pokemon League each time,"_ Bob added.

"_Not to mention, Aiden won all of his first four matches using only one Pokemon in each,"_ Susan continued.

Bob included, _"And if you don't think this kid is amazing yet, you might think so when you hear that he won all of his badges in the Kanto region on his first try. That means he never lost once to a gym leader in the Kanto region,"_

"_Wow,"_ Susan gasped._ "That is amazing. I can't believe a boy at that age could be so talented. He is definitely one of a kind,"_

"_That's right, Susan, Aiden is a force to be reckoned with,"_ Bob chuckled.

The three of us sat there silently. Penny was eating some chips at the time but now appeared to be frozen. Her muscles were still from shock. Jackson's eyes were practically bursting out of his head and my jaw was dropped to the floor. All this time we lived with this kid that had to be the best Pokemon trainer I've ever seen, and he never said a word. He never once boasted of his records or of his past achievements. This kid was amazing. I couldn't believe my ears.

Aiden walked back into the room and when he set eyes on us, he smiled. "What are you guys doing?" he laughed.

Penny shot up from the couch, spilling potato chips all over the floor. She hurried over and poked Aiden violently on the chest.

"How come you never told us you were so good, you little hustler?" Penny asked angrily.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Aiden responded innocently.

"What we mean is how come you never told us you were so freakin' good at Pokemon training? You should've heard all the crap they just said about you on the news," I stated, still astonished.

Aiden waved his hands back and forth nervously, "Listen, I'm not that good," Aiden said modestly. "But whenever people find out they treat me differently and just smother me with attention… it gets kind of annoying," Aiden admitted.

"How can being smothered with attention get annoying?" Penny asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Jackson joked, "Yeah, we all know how much you love it,"

"I just can't believe it. I'm sorry if it's bothersome but you're pretty incredible. I mean… I can't fathom how awesome you must be," I commented.

"It's okay," Aiden assured me. "Is the news report over?"

"I think so," Jackson answered.

Aiden stretched his arms up and yawned, "Well in that case, I'm heading off to bed. Good night everyone."

It was almost ten o'clock and everyone was tired. Aiden and the adults went to bed while Penny and I found ourselves collected in Jackson's room. Penny and I were sprawled out on the boy's bed practically falling asleep while Jackson was typing away at his computer.

"Why am I so tired all of the sudden?" I asked aloud in a yawn.

Penny shot up and exclaimed, with a look of delighted pride on her face, "That's what she said!"

Jackson and I looked at her strangely and I informed the over enthused girl, "That wasn't very good,"

Jackson kidded smoothly, "That's what she said,"

I laughed and Penny glared at me impulsively.

The girl walked over to Jackson and analyzed the computer screen in curiosity. "My god, you've been typing for ten minutes straight over here. What are you writing, a ransom note?" Penny joked.

Jackson narrowed his eyes and answered intolerantly, "No, I'm just e-mailing Owen back,"

I sat up on Jackson's bed intrigued after registering the boy's name.

Penny looked at me with a mischievous grin, "Ohhhh, what's it say?"

Jackson began to read monotonously, "'Hey Jackson. The HPFT just ended the other day and I placed third. I won this pretty awesome bronze medal and everything',"

"Wow, third place isn't bad," Penny commented, still grinning at me.

Jackson continued, "'Anyway, Amber and I reached Slateport City where I took a ferry to Vermillion. Tomorrow I'm taking a train so I can visit home one last time before spending the rest of the year in Hoenn with Amber. I didn't think I'd stay there that long but since we are I figured I better get some more of my crap and say an official good-bye to my grandpa. The closest train station to Pewter is some weird place called Delily. So I'll probably be there by three o'clock tomorrow. Then my grandpa is picking me up and bringing me home. How exciting, I know',"

"Delily Train Station?" Penny questioned, her eyes widening. "That's like five minutes from here," Penny realized, shaking in thrill.

Jackson uttered, "Yeah, so?"

"Kylie can go there and see Owen again! You can tell him that you love him!" Penny shouted, hopping up and down.

"Wait, what?" I shook my head, trying to catch up with the overexcited girl.

Penny grunted in frustration, "Ugh, don't you get it? This is your chance,"

I immediately reminded her, "As much as I'd love to, I have my match tomorrow,"

"Who cares?" the grass Pokemon trainer shrugged.

I huffed, "So you're suggesting that I throw my match and all that hard work I went through over the last year... away?" Penny nodded. "You're crazy,"

Penny blabbed, "Hey, if Jackson were visiting in a town near by I'd skip my match to go see him,"

The two of us froze and our jaws locked in place. We looked at the girl skeptically, not believing that outrageous statement she just declared. She raised a brow at our doubtful expressions.

"Hey, I would," Penny reinforced her previous proclamation.

"Lies," I muttered.

Jackson pointed at her and exclaimed deeply, "A damnable lie!"

Penny grew angry to hide her blushing, "I'm not lying! I hate you guys,"

I then further pushed the playful revelry, "What does this mean, Jackson?"

Jackson followed along, mocking in a voice that would be of one in a sexual education video, "I think this means that Penny has finally noticed the male species and she is ready to mate,"

I cocked my head back and laughed.

"Will you guys shut up? This isn't about me, this is about Kylie," Penny attempted to redirect our focus, pinching the bridge of her nose irritably.

"Now 'The Penny' is growing impatient," Jackson derided, putting his hands up to protect himself from the predicted hit that would come from Penny. She swung her arm and backhanded the boy on the shoulder, which only allowed us to laugh more.

"I've been with plenty of guys. I know what the 'male species' is," Penny guaranteed us.

I looked at Jackson in amusement, "I think she just called herself a whore,"

Penny stomped furiously to hinder our chortling. "This is serious!" she whined shrilly.

"Why do you care so much?" Jackson asked, holding his aching ribs. "It's not your life,"

"Listen, Penny. I get what you're saying at, but I don't think I'm prepared to make that sort of sacrifice for a boy. I mean… I've finally moved on,"

Penny interrogated, "Oh please, you've moved on? You've moved on from the boy you think about every stinkin' day, is that what you're telling me? You've moved on from the boy that you never shut up about?"

I lied, "Yes,"

Penny slapped her hands to her thighs and shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she had finally given in. "Fine then. Just don't come crying to me when you regret not seeing him,"

I started to grow angry as well. "What do you know? Did you ever think that it might be too painful for me to see him again? Did you ever consider that he might not even want to look at me after what I did to him?"

Penny pulled back and quieted down, a look of guilt shadowing her face. "You're right, Kylie. It was none of my business. I'm sorry,"

I gave a tiny smile. "It's okay," I assured her before hugging my best friend forgivingly.

Jackson scratched his chin and remarked, "Wow, that was kind of hot,"

Penny and I rolled our eyes and demanded in unison, "Shut up."


	80. Everything Has Led To This

"Hey Kylie, I just wanted to wish you luck on your match today," Aiden said politely the next morning at the breakfast table.

"Thanks, Aiden. You too," I smiled.

"So honey, when do you find out who you're battling?" my mom asked, shoveling a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

"The Registration Building is opening up at ten this morning. So we can leave soon and find out there," I informed her.

My mom further asked, "Are you nervous?"

Before I could reply my dad interrupted, "She shouldn't be. Kylie is extremely capable," he looked at me and continued, "We have full confidence in you."

"Thanks, dad."

"What Pokemon are you planning on using?" quizzed my mother.

"Well, I only have seven Pokemon so there's not much of a selection," I reminded her. "I'm gonna wait to see who I'm battling and get an idea of what Pokemon they own and then I'll decide. There's a couple that are a shoe in but you know, it's best to wait."

"Good choice," Professor Oak nodded. "Sometimes it's best to go into a battle not knowing every aspect of what you're planning. It helps you adapt and be ready for any sudden twists that you might not have expected."

"There can be such a thing as too much preparation," Ms. Ketchum added.

"Wouldn't that be weird if you and Aiden got paired together?" Jackson imagined.

"That would be quite some battle," Ms. Ketchum smiled, feeding herself a bite of oatmeal.

I muttered, twirling my spoon in the oatmeal filled bowl in front of me, "Yeah, a battle that I would lose."

"What was that, Kylie?" Aiden asked.

I quickly replied, "Oh, nothing."

After finishing breakfast our entire group made our way towards the Registration Building. The streets were filled with tourists that were sight seeing and souvenir shopping before the four matches of the day commenced. Lively music played through out the area with street performers around every corner, a weathered hat sitting next to them collecting small amounts of change. Men on stilts entertained the kids while adults shoved through the crowd trying to balance with fifteen shopping bags tied around each wrist.

We finally made it to the Registration Building and once again the big room was scattered with pools filled with Magikarp. Now that the competition was narrowed down to the final eight, Aiden and I and our followers were the only ones in the room. We found Ronnie and she greeted us with a delighted smile. My parents, Professor Oak, and Ms. Ketchum introduced themselves to her and talked grown-ups-to-grown-ups for a while. Eventually, Ronnie informed Aiden that it was his turn to fish for a Magikarp. I looked up at the screen to see that my picture was up there along side of three other boys. I was number four.

Aiden clenched the fishing rod loosely and dipped the bait into the water. Aiden jerked forward all of the sudden when a strong force was tugging on the opposite end. Aiden spun the crank as fast as he could and heaved the red fish out of the water. The adults clapped for his small accomplishment of fishing as Ronnie announced who Aiden would have to be battling.

"And you've selected number… four," Ronnie informed us. My picture was enlarged onto the monitor and Aiden's was placed next to mine. "Looks like you'll be facing young Kylie Scorch."

"Damn it," I muffled.

Aiden looked back at me with a saddened expression, "Uh oh, looks like we're gonna be fighting each other after all."

"Appears so," I replied through my teeth, a bit angered since I knew he was going to be tough to beat.

"Your match will begin at three o'clock. It will be the second match of the day," Ronnie told us.

"It's too bad you guys have to go against each other considering that you just became friends," Penny remarked.

"Okay Kylie, as friends, let's make this the best battle ever," Aiden challenged.

"You're on," I responded with a halfhearted smile.

Back at the house, Jackson, Penny, and I were in my bedroom. Penny was lying on her bed, twirling her light brown hair while Jackson sat lazily slumped on the chair that belonged under the desk. I was slowly starting to pack my things, folding each article of clothing flawlessly and carefully stacking them in my suitcase. Every once in a while I'd be able to smell the sensational campfire scent still nestled in the fibers of the fabrics. It reminded me of how Owen and I would spend almost every night setting up a campfire and rolling out our sleeping bags. Strange how I missed it but when I was forced to back then, I hated sleeping in those disgusting, uncomfortable sleeping bags.

"Why are you packing up so soon?" Penny asked, doing a shoulder roll off her bed.

"Might as well get started," I sighed, placing another shirt into my suitcase.

Jackson raised a brow, "You don't seriously think you're going to lose, do you?"

"If she keeps thinking this way she definitely will," Penny answered, resting her hands on her hips.

"I'm just being realistic," I replied with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Or maybe she's just packing up so she can go see Owen," Penny teased, making kissy faces just inches away from my cheeks.

"I just think the Kylie I know wouldn't shut up about how determined she is to beat this kid," Jackson shrugged.

Penny added, "Yeah, if you really wanted to prove yourself as a great Pokemon trainer, you'd go out there and whoop this kid's butt. So what if he's basically unstoppable? Kylie Scorch wouldn't rest until she was the first to beat this kid and put him in his place."

After a long pause, I concurred, suddenly motivated, "You know, you guys are right."

"Thank you," the two said proudly in unison.

"God, I've been such an idiot wasting my time and moping around for these last few weeks. I could be doing so much more and trying so much harder," I realized.

"There's that Kylie we know and love!" Penny cried, swinging her arm in delight.

"Thanks, guys, for saying all of that to me," I said gratefully to my two friends. "I was basically about to throw away my last chance. I mean- I'm not out just yet,"

"You're still in the game," Penny noted with a reassuring smile.

"So how are you going to beat this kid? If I were you, I'd come up with some strategies to beat all of his Pokemon, especially his Dragonite," Jackson advised.

Penny commented, a look of astonishment on her face as she recalled the dragon type's last battle, "Dragonite has to be Aiden's strongest Pokemon."

"No doubt," I agreed. "Dragon type Pokemon are weak against Ice types which I unfortunately don't have."

"But you have to remember that Dragonite is also a flying type which makes it weak against rock attacks. You could always use Cubone and his rock slide against Dragonite," Penny suggested.

"No offense to Cubone or anything- I mean I love him and all- but he just doesn't have as much experience as let's say Charmander or Houndoom," I pointed out.

Jackson proposed, "What if you taught Feraligatr ice fang?"

"The match is in three hours," I reminded the black haired boy.

"So? That's plenty of time. If Feraligatr learned ice fang you could use him against Aiden's Dragonite. Plus, they're pretty equal in size and Feraligatr is strong enough to take him on," Jackson persuaded.

I rocked back and forth on my toes indecisively, "I don't know… maybe I'll just use Charmander..."

"Charmander can't do as much damage as Feraligatr could," Jackson stated logically.

"What about those thunder punches? Those could knock Feraligatr out easily," I mentioned.

Jackson got up from his chair and affirmed, "We'll just have to figure out a way to avoid them."

The three of us met at the Pokemon Village training turf. It was a regulation sized Pokemon battling field that was available for public use in the Pokemon Village. I released Feraligatr from his Pokeball and he launched out eagerly and ferociously, confused that this wasn't the official battle.

"Feraligatr, we're gonna teach you a new move so we can beat Aiden this afternoon," I informed the beastly crocodile. The water type smiled and stomped in excitement, reminding me of how when he was a small Totodile, he used to jump excitedly all over the place. "So, the move is called ice fang. I'm not sure how, but I think you have to freeze your teeth or something."

"Maybe if he filled his mouth with water and froze it with his really cold breath, the water will turn into an icy coating around his teeth," Penny guessed while rubbing her chin in thought.

I shrugged, "Could work. Alright Feraligatr, give it a shot."

The water type Pokemon cocked his head back and filled his mouth up fully with water as if he were gargling. He closed his mouth and brought his head back down before exhaling heavily. A cold mist poured from his nostrils and we could see the water trapped in his mouth harden into ice. Feraligatr smiled, revealing that the water had frozen into a block of ice. The crocodile spat the small, frozen block onto the terrain and stood there unsure of what to do.

"Well, that didn't work," Jackson observed, before staring directly at Penny.

She glared at the boy. "Hey, it was only a suggestion. I wasn't saying it was absolutely going to work," she protested.

"Whatever, we just have to think of something else," I sighed. Then I sprouted an idea, "I know! Feraligatr, use a water gun."

Feraligatr brought his shoulders back and inhaled deeply before unleashing a powerful blast of water. Jackson happened to be standing right in front of Feraligatr so he intentionally got drenched in water. Jackson narrowed his eyes as he violently wiped the droplets of water from his wet face. Penny laughed hysterically.

I chuckled softly, "Uh whoops, I guess I should've been specific of where I wanted him to use the water gun."

Jackson responded in aggravation, "That would've helped."

"Now quick, put some cold air into your mouth," I told Feraligatr.

The water type obeyed and filled his mouth with some frosty air. When Feraligatr opened his jaw it revealed his once dripping wet teeth to be covered in a layer of ice.

"Alright, you did it!" I exclaimed proudly.

Penny praised, "Nice job, Feraligatr."

Jackson added sarcastically, still angered by being soaked, "Yeah, nice job."

"Make him bite something," Penny begged in excitement.

"Jackson, will you volunteer?" I joked.

He quickly replied, "No."

"Alright Feraligatr, bite the ground," I commanded.

Feraligatr unhinged his jaw and dug his razor sharp teeth into the turf below. It sounded as if his teeth shattered and shards of ice flew everywhere. Jackson, Penny, and I nodded our heads at each other in approval. This was going to work. It was a half hour passed one. We still had a little more time to train before we would have to head over to the stadium. The closer the clock drew towards three the more nervous I got. This was going to be the most important match of my life.

Next, we worked on avoiding Dragonite's ultra effective thunder punches. That was its most redoubtable move and if I was going to use Feraligatr against it then I was going to have to figure out a way to either stop its electrical blows or evade them. Feraligatr wasn't exactly the fastest Pokemon with his height and burly exterior, so this was probably going to be a difficult task.

"Now how do we solve the whole electrical attack problem?" I asked.

"I got it!" Jackson exclaimed. "It's a simple solution. Dragonite punches with his right hand, right?" Jackson questioned, demonstrating a slow right handed punch in the air before him.

I looked at the boy unsurely, "I don't know."

"I'm pretty sure he does. Anyway, when Dragonite punches with his right hand it leaves his whole chest and middle exposed from the left side," Jackson explained, displaying the process through more hand gesticulations.

"So?" I crossed my arms, trying to wrap my mind around the boy's logic.

"_Soooo_, we have Feraligatr use water gun or hydro pump or something and then Dragonite will end up electrocuting himself," Jackson concluded.

I asked questioningly, "Wasn't that Zane's strategy? I feel kind of dirty taking a method from another trainer."

Jackson assured me, resting his hand on my shoulder, "People have been doing this tactic for a bajillion years."

"Yeah, don't feel bad. You want to win, don't you?" Penny inquired, raising a brow at me.

I stared at her with a shocked expression, puzzled that she would even ask me that question. "Of course, more than anything in the world," I replied.

Jackson proposed, "Then let's just try this out."

"How? Are you willing to have ten tons of water flung at you again?" I cackled.

Jackson countered, "I think as the Pokemon's trainer you should do it."

"No way," I refused. "I'm not standing up there in an hour all moist for my match."

"Why doesn't Feraligatr just pretend to shoot someone with a water blast?" Penny suggested.

So, we tried it. Feraligatr and I stood yards apart and at Penny's command I dashed towards the burly beast with my fist cocked back. I growled ferociously while launching forward with my right hand rocketing towards Feraligatr. I wasn't really going to hit my own Pokemon, so I stopped mid way and Feraligatr jerked his head forward as if he just fired a powerful hydro pump at my core. We practiced a couple of more times and before we knew it the clock reached two. It was time to head to the Indigo Stadium.

First, we went back to the cabin to retrieve our family and friends. My dad told me that Aiden already left for the stadium so he wouldn't be joining us on our walk over there. I let Feraligatr back in his Pokeball to rest before the match started. I was hoping Aiden would use Dragonite as his last Pokemon so Feraligatr would get plenty of rest in before he'd have to engage in combat. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from Aiden first. I was aware of a couple of the Pokemon he owned but not many. He could have more in his Pokemon Storage System that he just switched today. Maybe he wouldn't even be using his Dragonite. That would be a relief and a disappointment. A relief because I wouldn't have to go up against that unbelievable power and a disappointment because that would mean we just trained for nothing.

I was confident in the seven Pokemon I acquired over my journey. I had a special bond with each and all of them had a magnificent story of how we met.

Charmander was of course the first Pokemon I ever got. While on my way to Professor Oak's lab on my first day traveling, I got chased by a wild pack of Beedrill. I found a bag lying on the ground with three Pokeballs in it. When I selected one at random, Charmander happened to pop out. He saved me that day and we've been best friends ever since. Charmander has helped me on countless occasions especially with winning all of my badges. I could not have done this without him and I never get tired of how he loves to latch onto my leg.

Butterfree was the first Pokemon I ever caught. Originally, I caught him as a tiny Caterpie but he immediately proved himself to be quite the fighter after defeating the ruthless Team Rocket. Caterpie soon evolved into Metapod and Metapod helped me win against the Fortune Teller which is how I got my first fortune told for free. Metapod transformed into Butterfree when battling an old friend, Johnny, and not too soon after Butterfree left our gang to raise a family with his love. Just yesterday Butterfree returned and proved that he hasn't lost his lust for battling.

Houndoom was my third Pokemon that I obtained on my journey. How I caught Houndoom, who was formerly a Houndour, is a rather painful story to recapitulate since Owen was there. Owen and I were fighting over who would be the lucky one to catch the Houndour and when we checked it was my Pokeball that had triumphed over Owen's. Good times. Anyway, Houndour eventually evolved into Houndoom after battling Dusty, an old friend that also made it to the Pokemon League. Houndoom is probably one of my hardest working companions and most consistent. You definitely don't want to cross paths with his flamethrower.

Rapidash also has an interesting story of how she became the fourth member of my team. I ran into a Ponyta ranch while on my travels and Team Rocket was able to capture all but one. Rapidash happened to be that one. As a team, we were able to rescue the other Ponyta and the owner of the ranch let Ponyta, who is now Rapidash obviously, join my squad. I give Rapidash credit for being the only girl and she definitely keeps up with the boys.

Growlithe was a fantastic addition to the group. When I was little, I had a best friend named Parker who was the original trainer of Growlithe. We used to play with him everyday and Growlithe was always so adventurous. One day, I met up with Parker on my journey and he gave Growlithe to me. Ever since, Growlithe has never seized to amuse me. He's always up to some sort of trouble and while he may seem like some hyper puppy he can pack quite the punch while in battle.

Feraligatr originally belonged to an abusive motorcyclist named Jay. Rapidash and I actually defeated Feraligatr once before he became a member of our team. Well, we found him badly injured and abandoned on Cycling Road and I was quick to get him some help. Since then, Feraligatr, who we met as a Totodile, has been an energetic addition and because of his hard work he eventually evolved into Croconaw and just recently Feraligatr. Feraligatr is a highly motivated Pokemon that just keeps on fighting.

Last but not least, Cubone was the seventh Pokemon that I caught on my adventures. Cubone and I met at Grandpa Canyon where we got stuck underground with the roguish Team Rocket. He helped me get through that awful experience and in the end he decided to join me on my journey. While Cubone can be tremendously stubborn and sometimes clonk me on the head with his club, he is overall a great battler. Cubone adds diversity to my almost all fire type team and he brings a wonderfully merciless energy to the battle field.

So in the end, it was simply seven. Seven was the number of Pokemon I needed to get this far. While we had our ups and downs we conquered every challenge that came our way as a group. Never once did one of us quit. Never once did one of us turn our head when another one of us was in need. Never once did we back down.

Now it was time. Finally, it was time for the seven of us to prove ourselves, to prove to everyone that we could fight and think as one. We trained endlessly for the past year and overcame obstacles I never imagined I would come across when stepping out my front door. And now it was time.

It was three o'clock. The announcer called for Aiden and me to step out onto the field and mount our trainer podiums. I stood in the dark tunnel leading out to the field for what could be my last time. I firmly placed my official Pokemon League hat on my head before strutting out into the sunlight.

The audience exploded with cheering and applause. I never heard such a lively and rowdy collection of people gathered to witness a sporting event. The stadium was jam packed with people and the announcer kept them entertained with catchy techno music and actually tasteful rap songs. The blaring music and the roar of the crowd got me extremely pumped for my match.

I reached the top of my trainer podium and glanced across the field to see Aiden. We smiled slightly and gave each other a firm nod. This let the opposite person know that we were going to try our hardest to make this the best battle ever. We didn't have to speak any words. It was a good feeling that one Pokemon trainer could sense from another. Sometimes I can look at a person and know whether the battle will be interesting or not. Ever since I met Aiden I knew that if we crossed each other's paths on the battle field, it would be a fight to remember.

I squeezed my eyes closed and shook my head, redirecting my focus on the match. Thinking about that other stuff was no longer necessary. It was strictly Pokemon from here on out. I glimpsed at my belt wondering what Pokemon I should use first, but before I knew it the referee swung his two flags and the first battle had begun. Thankfully, since I had gotten distracted, Aiden already selected his first Pokemon which was Pidgeot.

The bird was large and beautiful. It had russet and crimson feathers that scintillated as a gentle wind weaved through its light weighted quills. The mighty hawk had a thick beak and looked very somber yet powerful. It was surely a Pokemon I would like to catch someday. I removed Dexter from my pocket to receive more information on the bird.

_By flapping its wings with all its might, Pidgeot can make a gust capable of bending trunks of tall trees._

"I choose you, Growlithe!" I declared, pitching his Pokeball out onto the brown turf.

"The first battle will between Kylie's agile Growlithe and Aiden's fierce Pidgeot. Which Pokemon will achieve victory?" the broadcaster asked rhetorically.

The audience quieted down as they awaited for Aiden or I to call out a command. I decided to lay back and prevent myself from attacking first. Aiden narrowed his eyes at me while trying to figure out what I was planning. To be honest, I had no plan. I was simply lingering until a strategic opportunity presented itself to me.

A gentle wind whistled in my ears and I cracked my knuckles in preperation.

Finally, Aiden demanded, "Pidgeot, use gust."

Pidgeot swung its wings forcefully through the air and created a large tornado in the center of the field. The spiral of wind lifted dirt from the ground and collected trash and papers from the stands. The twister darted towards Growlithe who was starting to get pulled towards the winding force. I instructed Growlithe to fight back with our own flame tornado. Growlithe shot the circling funnel of fire from his mouth and the two twirling attacks bashed into one another allowing the flames to absorb and diminish the vigorous gusts.

Pidgeot and Growlithe were left standing on opposite sides of the terrain, both unharmed. Aiden, once again, initiated the next attack sequence by telling his Pidgeot to use air slash. Pidgeot immediately reacted and suddenly disappeared from where it was resting. Next thing I knew, it arrived at Growlithe's side and tackled the fire type full frontal. Growlithe flinched which allowed Pidgeot to swoop down from the heavens and slice the puppy Pokemon with a second aerial maneuver. Growlithe wobbled feebly until he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"Oh no, looks like Kylie's first Pokemon is already down and out. Let's hope the rest of the match won't pass as quickly as that did," the announcer proclaimed.

"Oh my god, this is a lot harder than I thought," I muttered to myself, recalling Growlithe back into his Pokeball. "Great job, Growlithe, you did your best," I whispered to the shining storage device.

As I grasped my next Pokeball, I happened to peer up and spot a familiar face in the audience. It was a tall, blond haired boy with a single stud in his left ear. I rubbed my eyes violently in disbelief. However, when I glanced back at the corridor where I could've sworn I saw my old friend standing, he was gone. Was I losing it? Was the pressure from the match already getting to me? I could've guaranteed that I just saw Owen.

I shook my head slightly, ignoring that obscure hallucination and concentrating on the next battle once again. I tossed Houndoom's Pokeball out onto the turf. The maroon and silver mechanism rolled to the center of the field and exploded with white light. Houndoom followed and growled determinedly once he laid eyes on his feathery opponent. The referee swung his flags and the second battle of the afternoon had commenced.

"This time, I won't be so hesitant to attack. Houndoom, attack with flamethrower," I ordered, swiftly pointing outward.

Houndoom launched the stream of flames from his lips but Aiden was quick to counter. Aiden coached Pidgeot to dodge by flying up in the air. If I was going to defeat his Pidgeot, I was going to have to take its aerial advantage away from it. In other words, Houndoom was going to have to pin Pidgeot down.

Next, I told Houndoom, "Use faint attack."

Before Aiden or Pidgeot could counteract, Houndoom barged into the bird Pokemon and trapped the hawk-like creature under its paws. Pidgeot fought and squirmed but it couldn't break free. I commanded to Houndoom that he use fire fang to end the match, but just as the small flames swarmed Houndoom's razor sharp teeth, Pidgeot wiggled free. Luckily, Pidgeot only got a couple feet in the air so Houndoom was able to turn his head and take a chomp onto the flying type's tail. Pidgeot screech shrilly and flames trailed off the Pokemon tail. Pidgeot attempted to make itself airborne but the agony was too much. Houndoom leapt up into the air and caught Pidgeot's wing in its jaw. Once Houndoom landed safely on the ground, he flung the burnt bird Pokemon high up in the air. The flying type plummeted to the ground and was declared unable to battle.

The crowd cheered as I hopped up and down in delight. After Growlithe was defeated I thought there was no way I'd be able to defeat this powerful bird, but Houndoom persevered. Aiden pitched his next Pokeball out onto the field and out popped an orange otter-like Pokemon with two tails and a rubbery scarf around its neck.

_Floatzel is the evolved form of Buizel and has a well-developed floatation sac as a result of pursuing aquatic prey._

"Looks like some trouble for Houndoom. It'll have to face off against Aiden's Floatzel which is a water type. One hit and say buh-bye," the broadcaster stated.

The referee swung his flags and shouted, "Begin!"

"Use aqua jet, Floatzel," Aiden instructed.

"Dodge and use faint attack!" I exclaimed.

Floatzel charged towards the stationary Houndoom with a rush of water propelling it forward. Houndoom speedily evaded the attack and collided with Floatzel after using faint attack. Floatzel stumbled back and this time I had Houndoom use crunch. Houndoom latched onto one of Floatzel's tails and the otter-like creature angrily whipped its tail about, attempting to liberate itself from Houndoom's grasp. Next, I commanded Houndoom to use flamethrower, even though I knew it would have little effect. The fiery stream struck Floatzel's rear but the aquatic Pokemon quickly counteracted with water gun.

The mass amounts of water intensely showered over Houndoom. The fire type gritted its teeth while trying its best to remain standing. Floatzel landed an aqua jet and that was the end. Houndoom tumbled to the ground and I was forced to call him back.

I clenched my fists tightly and I grinded my teeth. I should've expected that Aiden would select a water type to go up against all of my fire type Pokemon. The only other Pokemon I had that would stand a chance against Floatzel was Feraligatr and I wanted to save him for when Aiden would use his Dragonite.

"It's your turn, Cubone!" I yelled while hurling his Pokeball onto the turf.

Cubone appeared, swinging his bone wildly, attempting to intimidate Floatzel.

"Floatzel, use swift," Aiden told it. Floatzel hopped into the air and with a whip of its two tails, numerous dazzling stars came shooting out. The pointed shapes soared towards Cubone but he easily smashed each one to pieces with his club, creating a beautiful, sparkling cluster of dust particles in the air that amazed the crowd. "Now use sonicboom," Aiden continued.

I responded, "Use bone club."

As Floatzel swung its tail and sent the crescent shape of energy at Cubone, the ground type mole chucked its bone at the water type, bashing the Pokemon in the head. Cubone did a shoulder roll to avoid the sonicboom and caught his bone boomerang coming out of it. It was quite awesome. Soon after, Cubone and Floatzel met in the middle where they continually tried to strike one another with frontal attacks. Cubone swung his bone like a sword and Floatzel jabbed its paws every which way.

Cubone was finally able to slash Floatzel across the stomach and the aquatic monster cried loudly. Angry, Floatzel rocketed into the ground type using aqua jet and trapped Cubone between my trainer podium and the water type Pokemon. Floatzel continued to hit Cubone with aqua jet so Cubone was continually be thrashed up against my trainer podium.

"Stop! Stop!" I cried. "This is unfair! Make it stop!"

Aiden ordered enraged, "Floatzel, stop that this second!"

Floatzel slowly decreased the amount of water of which was pinning Cubone to my post. Cubone slumped to the ground and remained motionless. Once again my Pokemon was announced unable to battle. Aiden and I both returned our Pokemon. Floatzel whimpered ashamed for its tactless maneuver.

I was relieved that Aiden recalled his Floatzel but it never fainted, so therefore I would have to go up against it again if were to emerge victorious. So far, things weren't looking so bright. Aiden still had five Pokemon left while on the other hand I was left with three. I couldn't believe it was ending so fast. I just wanted a fair chance at winning but I unfortunately got paired up with this invincible kid. How was I going to beat him? Really, alls I wanted at that moment was some encouraging words from my friends.

I toughed up by puffing out my chest while releasing Rapidash from her Pokeball. Aiden's next Pokemon was, to my surprise, a Lickitung, the same Pokemon Owen owned. That's when I started to lose it. Even further than when I believed I identified Owen earlier in the sea of heads. Everything from then on reminded me of him. The world just seized the fact that I was going to lose this match and shoved it in my face. The universe snickered evilly as it reminded me that as I stood here I had thrown away my last opportunity to visit Owen. It just loved to watch me suffer.

"Lickitung, start things off with roll out!" shouted Aiden.

I soon advised, "Stop Lickitung by using stomp."

Lickitung rapidly spun into a shoulder roll and approached Rapidash but the fiery horse lifted its hooves high above Lickitung's head before pounding them down on the pink Pokemon's spine. Lickitung groaned in discomfort as it spilled out of its ball formation. The Pokemon's tongue rolled out of its mouth like a red carpet at a movie premiere. After Rapidash inflicted damage on Lickitung a peculiar image of Owen and I laughing flashed momentarily in my brain. The animated picture looked like a crinkled photo with black burned around the edges. I cleansed my aching cranium of the snapshot and continued forth with the match.

I instructed, a bit dazed, "Quick, use tail whip."

"Slam," Aiden put simply.

Rapidash whirled about and lashed her tail composed of flames against Lickitung. Lickitung picked himself off the ground and winced from the burns. The Pokemon tried to complete the arranged foray but the swelling wounds on its stomach hurt too much for it to assault using that medium.

Once again, after Rapidash wreaked damage on Lickitung, a second picture of Owen and I popped into my head. This time it was a still image of us standing on the beach at Cinnabar staring into the sunset. I could almost hear the ocean softly crashing on the sandy shoreline and the faint sound of Wingull cawing in the distance. I could almost feel the wind tangling my salty hair and tickling my face. The image abruptly vanished and when I was brought back to reality, I inhaled greatly, as if something kept me from breathing as I revisited the beach scene that had been displayed in my head. What was causing this to happen? I wasn't even thinking about those pleasant memories. They were just popping into my head whenever Aiden's Lickitung got injured. And that's when I figured it out.

Lickitung was just a few short attacks away from fainting, so if I wanted these painful murals of Owen and me together to go away, I would have to defeat Lickitung in one final blow. I was tired of thinking about Owen. I just wanted to let him go and move on with my match and my life.

I called to Rapidash, "End this with flare blitz."

Aiden ordered Lickitung to dodge the tackle but the injured Pokemon was unable to. Rapidash sprinted towards the normal type with her sharp horn pointed forward. As she grew closer to the plump, pink Pokemon she got surrounded by flames. Finally, Rapidash rammed into Lickitung causing the brawling monster to get absorbed by fire.

All of the sudden, I felt light-headed. The air escaped from my lungs and I could feel my face burn hot. My knees wobbled and suddenly locked. I staggered, almost falling to my knees, but I caught myself on the railing. The audience gasped and Aiden asked if I was alright through the speaker. Frankly, I wasn't alright. An agonizing tingle trickled up my spine all the way to my head where multiple photos of Owen presented themselves rapidly.

"Alright, I get it," I muttered angrily, fighting back tears. "Just make it stop… make it all stop…"

The announcer impolitely assumed, "It looks like the pressure is too much for Kylie Scorch and she's starting to lose her strength and will to go on."

"I'm sorry, Kylie. What do you need me to do?" Aiden asked sensitively, speaking undertone

I sniffled and grinned determinedly, "I need you to give it your all and finish up this match."

Aiden nodded and returned the smile before recalling his Lickitung and sending out his next Pokemon. I was caught by surprise when he chose his Dragonite as his next challenger. I bit my bottom lip worriedly. The brawl between Rapidash and Dragonite did not last long. Rapidash was already tired so Dragonite was able to defeat her with a thunder wave and an aqua tail. The announcer was actually right. The immense amount of pressure was getting to me. I just couldn't handle the fact that I was slowly losing my opportunity to move on further in the Indigo League. The more battles I lost the better the likelihood I had at losing the entire match.

I kicked my leg up and hurled my fifth Pokeball out onto the field. "Charmander, I choose you!" I yelled. My plan was to weaken Dragonite with Charmander and finish it by having Feraligatr use the ice fang we practiced.

Aiden ordered, "Dragonite, use wing attack."

Dragonite bulleted towards Charmander with its tiny wings glowing compacted with energy. Charmander slid out of the way and slashed Dragonite on its hip creating a large gash. However, Dragonite failed to recognize the new wound. Dragonite then used twister where he flapped his wings vigorously, creating a small tornado that trapped Charmander in the winding vortex. The strong gusts nearly tore Charmander limb from limb but the fire type was still able to battle on after the twister died down.

"Use smokescreen, Charmander," I coached, eagerly trying to come up with a plan.

Charmander filled the area with smoke but the black haze was easily washed away by the flap of Dragonite's wings. Aiden commanded Dragonite to use aqua tail and the attack was nearly unavoidable. The dragon type loomed behind Charmander and bashed its water coated tail into the tiny lizard. Charmander flipped and counterattacked with flamethrower. Dragonite raised its forearms to shield its core from getting blasted by the river of fire, but there was a great deal of flames. It was one of the most powerful flamethrowers I had ever seen come from Charmander.

"Excellent job, Charmander, keep it up," I praised. "Now use fire fang."

As Dragonite tottered back and forth unstably Charmander filled his mouth with heated air. When the fire type opened his jaw to chomp down on the yellow dragon tiny flames swathed his jagged teeth. My starter Pokemon inched forward and bit Dragonite's arm midair. Reflexively, Dragonite wiped its arm about out of pure pain, Charmander's hot fangs sinking into the dragon type's skin. This sent the small fire type flying through the air. Charmander skidded across the ground violently before landing flat on his stomach bringing his body to a complete stop.

"The red trainer's Charmander can no longer battle. Dragonite is the victor!" the referee declared, the man's green flag suspended in the air.

"Thanks, buddy, you did a fantastic job," I whispered to Charmander's Pokeball. "Now you can take a well deserved rest."

"Kylie is down to one last Pokemon while Aiden is looking strong with four remaining on his side," the announcer observed.

I peered down at the Pokeball that I clenched tightly in my hand. The veins on the reverse side of my palm elevated. I closed my eyes and breathed in through my nose and slowly released the air from between the cracks in my lips. I lifted the Pokeball to my chin and whispered to Feraligatr that I had full confidence in him.

"Even if you aren't able to defeat all four of them," I spoke softly. "I'm still proud of you."

My eyes shot open and I hurled Feraligatr's Pokeball onto the field. The beast roared and pounded his fists against his chest as he emerged from the white light of the opening Pokeball. Dragonite met the alligator at the center of the field and glared at him fiercely, the dragon type's upper lip quivering. The referee swooshed his flags through the air and Aiden didn't hesitate to call out the first command.

"Start things off with thunder wave."

The jolt of electricity surged through out the giant crocodile's body. Feraligatr's spine straightened and the monster cocked his head back as he hollered in pain. The yellow energy diminished but tiny strands of electricity were still bouncing off his skin. He was temporarily paralyzed. Aiden next commanded his Pokemon to use wing attack. Dragonite rocketed towards Feraligatr, who stood planted on his hind feet, and remained low to the ground. His tiny, teal wings colored white and dust picked up from the ground as the dragon type flapped its wings to gain speed.

Dragonite was about to land the attack when Feraligatr wrapped his scaly fingers around the Pokemon's neck. The water type leapt up in the air, releasing Dragonite from his grasp whilst doing so. Dragonite's skull crashed into the solid turf as Feraligatr landed back on the ground thunderously. The flying and dragon type Pokemon rolled onto its back and unleashed a powerful, yellow ray from its mouth. I told the crocodile creature to dodge but Feraligatr had no time to react. The hyper beam hit him with full force.

"Finish it with thunder punch!" Aiden yelled elatedly.

Dragonite rushed over with its fist charged with electricity. The yellow dragon was inches away from landing its attack when I countered, "Hit its left side with hydro pump!"

Feraligatr emitted a blast of water that pounded against Dragonite's left shoulder and abdomen. The area was wide open from the Pokemon twisting from the right side since it was punching with its right hand. The flying type was sent stumbling backward before electricity surged through out its body.

"This is unbelievable!" the announcer exclaimed. "What a come back! Kylie's Feraligatr used Dragonite's thunder punch against itself causing the Pokemon to get electrocuted."

"Now use ice fang," I instructed firmly. I was hoping with all my might that the maneuver would be successful and possibly result in Dragonite fainting.

I bit my bottom lip in anticipation as Feraligatr froze a coating of water around his teeth before chomping down on Dragonite's leg. Feraligatr buried his fangs into his opponent's leg. The mighty dragon bellowed in agony as the jagged ice particles tunneled underneath its skin. Tiny ice flecks scattered everywhere from the collision. A small amount of blood dripped from Dragonite's leg and from Feraligatr's teeth. You could see the holes in the dragon's limb from where the water type's teeth made contact. I thought for sure Dragonite wouldn't be able to fight any longer. How would it be able to stand up?

Then, all of the sudden, Aiden ordered, "Try thunder punch one last time."

From the ground, Dragonite viciously hurled another electricity-ridden fist at my Feraligatr. The crocodile most definitely did not expect the attack since he thought Dragonite wouldn't be able to continue. However, the hit clobbered Feraligatr right in the chest. Feraligatr faltered, trying his best to sustain stability, but the electric power overwhelmed him. The water type was up against its worst nightmare and could no longer handle the immense pain. Feraligatr slowly tumbled to the ground unconscious and moments later Aiden was proclaimed the winner. As soon as Feraligatr hit the ground the crowd hopped up from their seats and exploded into applause and boisterous cheering.

"Wow, what a finish!" the announcer yelled in astonishment. "Feraligatr and Dragonite battled it almost neck-and-neck the entire duration of the battle. However, Feraligatr couldn't withstand Dragonite's grand thunder punch. Ten-year-old Aiden is moving on to the semi-finals and is officially the youngest to ever make it this far in the Indigo League. Big congratulations to Aiden!"

I stood there with a stern expression, not sure how to handle the moment. It hadn't really hit me yet that I was out of the competition and could no longer get any closer towards achieving my dream. I recalled Feraligatr to his Pokeball, commending the Pokemon for its hard work in the battle and all through the league itself.

I would've chosen to stand there for the rest of the day, allowing the audience to empty out the arena. I would've stood there to absorb what just happened, maybe watch the sun set below the high point of the stadium's seats. I could've rested in that exact spot until nightfall to simply think about my journey and my matches until I located every mistake I ever made. That list would be endless. However, I could not do this for the next match between the next two trainers had to begin soon. I wasn't in the mood to stick around and watch. I wasn't quite sure what kind of mood I was in.

When I gradually climbed down my trainer podium I removed Ash's hat from my head. I entered the lightless tunnel and crossed paths with the next Pokemon trainer that was walking out to fight against his adversary. Once I reached the end I suddenly let loose. I put my forearm against the cold, brick wall and pressed my forehead against my arm. Tears swam down my face like a school of fish fleeing from a shark. I looked at the floor to see the small droplets make numerous wet splotches on the cement.

What am I supposed to say? Should I rant about how disappointed in myself I am? Should I complain that I could've trained harder? Is it necessary for me to describe how depressed I was feeling? Just imagine your dreams being demolished after you were so close. That's how awful I felt. Yupe, reality had finally hit me and I was in full realization of what just happened.

"Just be proud of how well you did and how far you made it," Penny told me later that evening.

"Yeah, I mean you can't go thinking it was all a total waste. Did you learn a lot?" Jackson asked.

I replied halfheartedly, "Yeah."

"Did you enjoy the experience?" he questioned.

Once again, "Yeah."

"See?" Penny patted me on the shoulder. "This last year wasn't a waste at all," she said supportively.

"And if you never set out on your journey in the first place you would've never met us," Jackson smiled playfully.

Penny added, "Or Owen."

"Or Zane," said Jackson in addition.

I joked passively, "That would be a good thing."

Jackson and Penny chuckled softly.

Penny looked at me questionably, "You okay?"

"I'm better," I sighed. "Listen, I appreciate you guys trying to make me feel better, but I think I just want to be alone," I admitted.

"We understand," Penny nodded, getting up from her place on her bed and walking towards our bedroom door.

Jackson remarked teasingly before exiting the room, "Just don't get too depressed."

The two left Penny and I's bedroom. I fell back on my bed and glanced over at my packed bags sitting near the door. The door creaked open and through the small crack entered Aiden. I sat up in my bed and the small boy ambled over.

"I just wanted to tell you that I had an awesome time battling you today," commented Aiden.

"Thanks, I had fun too," I responded tiredly, my eyes still swollen from crying earlier.

"You put up a great fight. I don't think my Dragonite has ever been worked so hard. Your Charmander and Feraligatr are truly amazing," Aiden continued. "Would you ever be interested in trading either of them for one of my Pokemon?" he offered.

"No, sorry, I'm very happy with the Pokemon I have. Thanks though," I declined as politely as I could.

Aiden rolled his eyes in embarrassment. "Sorry if this sounds dumb and cliché, but we promised each other to have the best match ever and I'm really glad that the both of us lived up to that."

I agreed, "Me too." Aiden got up to leave but I halted his departure. "Hey Aiden, good luck in the rest of the competition."

He smiled, "Thanks."

I laid back on my bed and ended up falling asleep for the rest of the night.


	81. Pokemon Boxer Journeys

"In third place, we award young Owen Boxer and his Hitmonlee with the bronze medal!" the referee declared.

The man in black and white stripes was standing in the wrestling ring with three other men and their Pokemon. The Hoenn Pokemon Fighting Tournament had just finished and the official was presenting each victor with their prize according to what place they came it. Owen proudly accepted the bronze medal as the man placed one around his neck and Hitmonlee's. Owen grasped the third ranking medal in his hand and gazed at it awestruck. He could barely believe that in just one year he and Hitmonlee competed in two major boxing competitions. It seemed just like yesterday he won the KPFT.

The second and first place winners were granted their prized medals as well and the contest was officially over. The large audience departed from the stands and everyone was gone except the janitors who were sweeping the remains from the crowd. Owen walked down the blank hallway which had the arena's exit at the end. He heard footsteps behind him and when the boy peered over his shoulder he smiled. Amber was chasing him down the hallway and seconds later she arrived before him.

"You did so awesome," Amber complimented before pecking Owen on the lips.

"Thanks."

Amber's eyes widened suddenly and she jumped backwards in excitement. "I know!" she exclaimed. "We should go out and celebrate just the two of us, my treat," she insisted.

Owen wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and pulled her in closely. He gaped at Amber's beauty and asked, "How is it that a guy like me managed to get an amazing girl like you?"

Amber countered, "I think the question is how did a girl like _me_ get a guy like _you_?"

The two kissed affectionately before heading off to the restaurant Amber had been raving about. The HPFT was held in Slateport City, a sunshine filled place with a beautiful beach and plenty of things to do. There was a contest hall, a museum, a light house, a market, and the Pokemon Fan Club. The tiny burger shack, where they were going to eat, overlooked the beach and the ocean beyond. The sun was beginning to set so the two teenagers had a magnificent view outside their window which sat beside their booth.

"Isn't this the cutest little place?" Amber squealed, tapping the top of Owen's hand.

The beach shack was cramped with booths where many tourists were sitting and eating their supper. Waitresses stomped around, busily tending to their tables in order to keep the waiting line to a minimum. Local artworks and charming paintings of famous locations around Hoenn were nailed to the white paneled walls. Oldies rock music softly played in the background while candles sitting in jars of sand burned on each table. The family restaurant was dimly lit which gave the shack a romantic feel.

Owen was scanning the menu, contemplating what kind of burger to order, when he saw someone approach their table in his peripheral vision. He and Amber looked up to see a kid probably around the age of seven smiling manically before them. He was short and fleshy with a round head and meaty, red cheeks. The small boy had light brown hair and dark eyes. He fashioned a black HPFT T-shirt and camouflage cargo shorts.

Owen eyed the kid suspiciously before flashing Amber a glance. "Can we help you?" Owen asked rudely.

"You're Owen Boxer, right?" the boy inquired. His voice was hoarse.

Owen answered hesitantly, "Yeah."

"Wow, that's so cool!" the boy exclaimed. "I'm one of your biggest fans. I saw you today in the competition and your Hitmonlee was the best. He was just like POW! POW! POW!" the boy shouted, punching and kicking as a demonstration. "And all those other babies went home crying."

"Yeah, all but two," Amber pointed out good-humoredly.

Owen raised his brow at the girl, "I'm sorry, what place did you come in?"

"Oh, you just got _owened_," announced the boy.

"Dude, nice one!" Owen chortled and gave the child a high-five. "What's your name?"

"Paul," he informed, straightening his posture while doing so. "And I want to be a Pokemon boxing trainer just like you someday. My daddy does it too when he's not working."

"Gotta chase the dream, kid," Owen remarked, slouching back in his seat and placing his hands on top of his head.

Paul danced slightly before asking shyly, "Mr. Boxer, can I please have your autograph?"

"Paul, I'll tell you what, I'll write you an autograph if you promise me to try and become the best Pokemon boxing trainer you can possibly be," Owen bargained with his young supporter.

Paul nodded rapidly, almost releasing strands of slobber from his mouth.

Owen found a pen and napkin and began to write the boy's desired signature. After writing a little message and signing his name he handed it to Paul who snatched in gladly. The child ran off to his table, waving the napkin in the air excitedly before showing it to his parents. Owen caught Amber's glance and the two shared a laugh.

"Well, aren't you mister famous now?" Amber teased.

Owen shrugged pompously. "What can I say? With skills as mad good as mine, it's hard not to attract attention and have a few fans beg for an autograph everywhere I go."

"'Gotta chase the dream', right?" kidded Amber.

"Gotta chase it and gotta catch it," Owen corrected her playfully.

The couple ate their food and exited the restaurant after fighting over whom would pay the bill. Owen insisted that he pay since he's the man but Amber demanded she pay for it since she was the one treating him out to dinner. Finally, Owen gave up and let his kind, generous girlfriend pay the bill.

The pair walked on the beach as the sun finished setting. The only other people around was a couple with their infant and their Poochyena. The family smiled politely at Owen and Amber as they passed by and Owen saluted respectfully.

Owen reached down and took Amber's hand but suddenly she tugged it away. She started running down the sandy shoreline and Owen was forced to chase after her. The teenage boy dug his hand into the damp sand and chucked the glob of dirt at his girlfriend. It hit her directly in the back and she screeched, appalled Owen would dare throw dirt at her. Soon enough, the duo was throwing balls of wet sand at each other, almost like a snowball fight. Amber hid behind a giant rock and constructed a pile of sand balls while Owen danced tauntingly out in the open.

"Are you scared of my guns?" Owen derided, flexing his arm muscles. "I would be too." Owen continued, wiggling his fingers challengingly, "C'mon out and fight like a real man."

"I'm not even a man!" Amber called out.

Amber was packing together her last sphere of dirt when Owen poked his head around the rock. Amber jumped from being startled and ended up dropping her dirt ball, causing it to plummet to the ground and destroy all the others. Amber shoved Owen gently, purposefully leaving finger prints on his sweatshirt. Owen tossed a blob of sand he had been hiding behind his back and it struck Amber in the neck. She quickly scooped up a pile and pitched the handful of sand at Owen. The glob hit him right below the belt and Owen crouched over in agony.

He muttered, "Okay, truce."

Amber giggled, "Oops, sorry."

Later, Owen and Amber sat on the sand, their toes just inches away from touching the water. They were already filthy from the sand fight so they didn't care that their butts would get wet. The moon hung in the sky, a slender sliver glowing white and brightening up the hazy night. The ocean was almost still, just a gentle swaying of the water trickling up and down the sand the most miniscule amount. Amber scooted closer to Owen and wrapped her arm around his. She leaned her head against his shoulder as the two gazed out at the peaceful scenery.

"I'm sad you'll be leaving in two days," Amber sighed, breaking the silence.

Owen responded timidly, "Just think I'll be back sooner than you know it."

Amber pouted, "Yeah, but two weeks is a long time apart."

"There's plenty to do around here. You say it now but you won't miss me at all," Owen claimed, leaning back on his palms.

The red haired girl glared at him sternly. "I will too," Amber assured him. "And listen… I'm a little embarrassed to even be bringing this up, but… I just want to let you know that I'm faithful to you."

Owen hung his head and poked his finger into the moist sand. "I know," he whispered.

"I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. You are the most important thing to me in my life right now. Which is why I rejected the offer I got to assist an exploration group in the Celestic Town Ruins," Amber revealed.

Owen turned his head and looked at Amber unsure of what she was talking about.

"As you know, I want to be a Pokemon researcher when I grow older and more specifically study fossils. Well, a few of my past exploration leaders recommended me to this other guy who is leading this big project in the Celestic Town Ruins."

"In Sinnoh," Owen interrupted.

"Yeah," Amber confirmed. "They heard how great I was and they needed an intern of some sort on the job and they offered me a position. Right away I thought about our plans to travel the rest of Hoenn and more importantly I thought about us. I didn't want to endanger our relationship by making this long distance again so I turned it down," she explained.

"You did that?"

Amber nodded, "Yeah."

"Wow, are you sure? I mean I don't want you to regret anything."

"Yes, I'm sure," she answered with a faint smile.

Owen asked skeptically, "Are you sure it's not too late to call and change your mind? Opportunities like this don't just pop up whenever you want them to."

"I've made my decision. I have the rest of my life to work anyway," Amber chuckled good-naturedly.

Owen shrugged, "If you insist."

The two headed back to their hotel for the evening. Owen was exhausted from the long day and couldn't wait to collapse into bed. The hotel they were staying at was small and grimy, but it's all they could expect for the cost. As they walked down the narrow hallway there was a teenage girl sitting outside her hotel door. She was extremely tall with dirty blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. She fashioned a Kelly green T-shirt and blue skinny jeans. On her feet, which looked rather enormous, were black converses and a blue bracelet around her left wrist. Oddly, the tall girl was hunched over and her hand was moving back and forth vigorously.

Owen politely greeted as they walked by, "Hey, how's it going?"

The girl grumbled, not looking up from her busy activity, "Nothing."

Owen asked in curiosity, "What are you doing?"

"I'm shinning my badges what else would I be doing?!" the girl snapped, lifting her badge case up in the air. "I'm trying to get four freakin' sparkles but it's taking forever the little freakin' frickers!"

When the girl looked back down Owen twirled his finger around his ear and mouthed "crazy" to Amber. Owen quickly slid their key in their hotel door to avoid conversing any longer with this unusual teenage girl. Amber strutted in without turning on the light. She took off her soggy shoes and Owen flipped the light switch on after closing the door behind them. Amber announced that she was going to take a shower and Owen would have a turn after. Once the two were clean Amber lay on the bed and watched television while Owen turned on the computer. Originally there were two twins beds but the couple pushed them together to form one king sized bed.

Their room was small, with the bed occupying most of the space. Against one wall was the desk with the computer on it and on the opposite wall was the twenty-five inch color television set. There was also a dresser which sat next to the tiny closet, and a cramped bathroom that branched off the room. The walls were plastered with hideous, floral wallpaper that you might find in a grandmother's living room. It was peeling in the corners where the walls met the ceiling and you could see mold seeping through. The carpet was the color of creamed coffee but at one point in time was probably white. The comforters were also floral, dark navy fabric with blotchy pink and white flowers printed all over them. They did not match the wallpaper at all. Above all, Owen was just impressed the room had a working toilet. He felt bad thinking he couldn't afford a pleasanter place for his classy girlfriend to enjoy, but they'd have to suffer for just a few more days.

"Hey, isn't 'The Office' on tonight?" Amber questioned, lying on her stomach while flipping through the channels.

Owen shrugged while opening up his e-mail, "I don't know."

The blond haired boy clicked on the new letter he had received from Jackson and started reading it.

_Hey dude! Kylie and Penny both won their first round matches today. Then Penny got tripped by this girl in a restaurant and her food got all over her. It was hysterical! But man, they were this close to having a chick fight. That would've been awesome. So far the competition doesn't seem that tough and Kylie is pretty confident. I guess it's from all that time she spent with you. Hahaha, just messing with you, bro. Speaking of competitions, how'd you do in the HPTFksjetr or whatever? And how are things with Amber? I know you were having some second thoughts or something. That's okay, shit happens. Should be any day now that you'll arrive in Vermillion, right? Anyway man, talk to you later._

Owen drummed his fingertips against the desk while releasing air from his lips causing a flabby, vibrating sound. What he did not know was that Amber had been standing behind him quietly for a couple seconds now. Her voice startled him and he twisted his head around at the sound of it.

"What does Jackson mean by 'second thoughts'?" Amber asked, a puzzled yet saddened expression on her face.

Owen swiftly turned back around and Xed out the e-mail, but the damage was done. Amber had read the entire thing and was now suspicious of him. He knew she wasn't going to leave him alone unless he gave her some reasonable answers.

"Are you not happy with me? Are you gonna break up with me?" she interrogated.

"No, no," Owen immediately replied.

Amber looked shocked, "So you aren't happy with me?"

Owen quickly corrected himself, "No, I am."

"Then what are these second thoughts? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Amber instantaneously responded, "You're lying."

Owen sighed before advising, "Sit down."

Amber slowly strolled over to the bed and sat on the edge. Owen got on his knees and laced his fingers with hers. He gazed into her green eyes that glistened magnificently. They were deep and strong yet innocent and gentle. As he stared into them longer the more hurt and confusion he could sense within the teenage girl. He didn't want to leave her perplexed but unfortunately he might have to break her heart in the process.

"Listen," Owen started softly, tightening his grip on her fragile hands. "There's something I never told you. Back when I was traveling with Kylie we went to my junior prom together. We met outside the school and we were alone and… I told her… I told her that I loved her," he confessed.

Amber's brows lowered, intensifying the wrinkles in her skin. She looked stern, just staring over the top of Owen's head hoping this was all a dream or perhaps he was kidding. To her dislike he was not. And what he never told her is that he still loved Kylie.

"Okay," she finally replied.

"Okay?"

"Okay. I always sensed something between you two but I figured I was being paranoid. Anyway, life is life and people fall in love whether they want to or not. I know you can't control how you feel about other people so… it's okay," Amber assured him halfheartedly.

"The reason I never told you is because I didn't want you to get hurt. I still care about you and I didn't want you getting concerned about nothing," he explained.

Amber squeezed his hands. "Owen, I want you to know that you can always talk to me about anything, even if it may be something I might not exactly want to hear. You don't have to scribble everything down in that dumb notebook of yours," Amber suggested.

"Yeah."

"And it's normal to have some doubts but that's why we try our best to communicate with one another and work through these rough patches," Amber said understandingly.

"You're right," Owen concurred. "But just to clarify, I don't have any sort of feelings for her anymore," Owen lied. He only lied to protect Amber's feelings from getting even more crushed.

Amber let go of Owen's hands and rubbed her cheeks. She looked stressed and overwhelmed as she yanked her facial skin downward. The teenage girl sighed heavily before tapping her thighs and hopping to her feet.

"Thanks for telling me, hun. That was extremely brave of you," Amber commended.

"Yeah, well… you know me. I'm as brave as they get," Owen joked, lacking enthusiasm.

Amber picked Owen off the floor and embraced him tightly. She pulled back and surprised the teenage boy with a gentle kiss on the lips.

The red head smiled and said, "You're also as handsome as they get." Amber paused and noticed that Owen was acting extremely reserved. She asked in diffidence, "So are you going to be all awkward around me from now on?"

Owen replied sarcastically, causing Amber to chuckle softly, "Oh yeah, you can count on it."

Two days passed and it was time for Owen to board the ferry to Vermillion City in Kanto. The dock at Slateport was stirring with people saying so long to their family and friends and climbing aboard the large cruise-like ship. The white ocean liner had a rectangular lower deck and an upper deck where the richer people dined. The boat's flag whipped in the intense wind at the peak of the ship and a metal walkway led from the brick pier up to the railing of the ferry. Wingull surveyed the area from the skies, watching to see if any civilians would accidentally drop their early lunch.

It was about 11:30, which was when the passengers would have to embark to Kanto. The sun was almost at its pinnacle of daylight and the velvet blue sky was cloudless. Although there wasn't a single cloud hanging in the atmosphere, the sky still appeared fluffy and soft. Amber looked up and just wanted to jump boundlessly in the air and soar among the birds.

Owen noticed the majority of the crowd was beginning to scale the ramp and inship the boat. He looked back at Amber who was gazing up at the sky, the wind brushing her face and twirling her wavy hair. She was beautiful as the vivid sun shone down on her pastel skin. However, Owen couldn't help but see her differently ever since the other day. Typically a girl would be furious to hear that her boyfriend was in love with another girl but Amber was so different. She reacted calmly and she was so reasonable and decent. How was it that such a great girl stood before him but he couldn't help but constantly think about another girl?

"Owen, I am going to miss you so much," Amber told him sincerely.

Owen responded, "I'm gonna miss you too."

"I'll write and call you everyday. Be sure you do the same," Amber ordered, pointing her finger at the blond haired boy.

"About that-"

Amber interrupted, "I was looking online last night and found out that Delily Train Station is only a few minutes away from the Pokemon League. You should take a detour there and watch one of Kylie's matches."

Owen raised a brow. "You're actually suggesting-?"

Amber patted the boy on the shoulder. "Hun, you should know by now that I'm not the jealous type. We already talked about this the other day, remember? I know you wouldn't do anything stupid to hurt our relationship." Amber then muttered to herself, "Nothing more than you already have."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, nothing."

The ferry's horn sounded and echoed throughout the harbor. The rest of the passengers boarded the ship which signaled to Owen it was time to hurry and go.

"I guess you better get going," Amber sighed sorrowfully. She squeezed her boyfriend one last time and placed a long, passionate kiss on his lips. "Bye."

"Actually, Amber… can we talk real quick?" Owen asked, holding his forehead nervously.

Amber gave him a strange look, "We _are_ talking."

Owen exhaled heavily before swallowing his body's effort to throw up. He rocked back and forth on his toes as he felt sweat perspire from under his armpits. He'd been strategizing how to say this all day and the only thing he could do now was just go for it. If he didn't do it now then he'd never have the guts to say it and he might regret it for the longest time, possibly the rest of his life.

"Okay, screw it," Owen uttered while inhaling deeply. He emptied his enlarged lungs before finally saying, "Listen Amber, there's something we need to talk about."

**A/N: Alrighty folks, there's a small dose of what the relationship between Owen and Amber looks like and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if Owen seems a little OOC and girlish. I haven't written dialogue or anything for him in months so I'm not quite back into the mode yet. Not to make excuses, but this chapter wasn't that great because I don't think I'm used to writing as Owen and Amber, especially with no Kylie to fall back on since she's what I'm used to.**

**Also, I was just wondering (from the fans themselves) what your favorite chapters of PSJ have been of all time? I'm just curious so when I look back at them maybe I can incorporate their good qualities into future chapters and future writings. Name as many as you want, after all, they are **_**your**_** favorites! Thanks a lot and stay tuned! :D**


	82. The Pokemon League Finals

Chapter 82

A damp fog floated above the ground making it nearly impossible to see. I took each step cautiously while waving my hands out in front of my body. My sneakers pounded against the pavement as I journeyed through the grey mist. I felt like I was walking through a hazy void. For all I knew I probably was. This boggy pass could go on for miles and there would be no way for me to know. The stiffness in my calves was the strange force that kept pulling me forward. It was the thing that kept me ambling on.

Eventually, the fog cleared enough so I could see. I was astonished to find myself at the end of Victory Road. I could see snow piling immeasurably on the mountain and the mazy cave was a few yards away. I peered up to see Milotic materialize before me. A dazzling, cobalt dust trailed behind her as she soared sinuously through the air. She came to a stop hovering just feet in front of me and winked before vanishing. An intense wind carried her off and the sparkling blue dust followed. I blinked unsure of what just happened.

Before I could process the events prior, I appeared at a riverside. A small waterfall trickled down a miniscule cliff into the passage of water and created a lovely, tranquil sound. The air seemed to twinkle as trees swayed in the gentle breeze. A few Bellossom danced in the sunlight and a couple Bulbasaur hummed happily while circling around their harvest of apples. The thick, white mist had completely disappeared.

I strolled over to the river to gaze at my reflection. I appeared the same as usual. My dark brown hair held back by an elastic, black tank top with a flame on it, jean shorts and my messenger bag slung around my shoulder. Suddenly, I saw a figure emerge from behind me. I turned to see it was Owen and my jaw dropped.

Without saying a word, the boy shoved me into the water. I sank to the muddy bottom and soon enough my lungs craved oxygen. I paddled my way to the surface but it only seemed to grow farther away. When I reached the top I was met by a thick sheet of ice. I squirmed and panicked, realizing there was no way out. I banged my fists against the frozen barricade but it was no use. The last thing I saw was Owen's glare of pure evil and anger burning right through me.

"WAKE UP!" an earsplitting screech expunged the image.

I shot up from my bed and immediately opened my eyes. My vision was blurred and I was seeing double, although I was able to recognize my mother poking her nose in my face. She yanked the blinds open and the rays of sunlight blinded me yet washed the fuzziness away. I shielded the daylight from my face with my forearms and my head collapsed back on its pillow.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" my mother interrogated.

I groaned in discomfort.

The woman pushed the digital alarm clock against my drool covered cheek. "It is 2:30 in the afternoon," she informed me viciously.

I whacked her wrist away and rolled onto my side.

She placed her hands on her hips and stated, elongating each syllable contemptuously, "You missed Aiden's match, Kylie. I came in here to get you hours ago and you said you'd meet us there but you never did. Were you sleeping the entire time, missy?"

I was still half asleep so I didn't answer. My feet slowly touched the ground and I rubbed my eyes as my mother backed away from me.

"Well, if I were you I'd apologize to Aiden. He is your friend and you let him down," my mother proposed, but I knew it was more of an order.

I yawned, "Okay, I will." My mother turned to exit my bedroom but before she did I asked, "Wait, did he win?"

The middle aged woman scoffed, "Maybe if you showed up you would know."

I leisurely got up and dressed myself lazily. I walked downstairs, marching almost zombie-like, fashioning a yellow hoodie and grey sweatpants. My hair was natty and loose strands jutted out in all sorts of directions. I stumbled into the kitchen warily, rubbing the corners of my eyes. When I removed my knuckles from touching my face I saw Aiden standing in the kitchen. He was staring out the window engrossed in thought, holding a glass of water he was sipping to make himself busy. The boy watched me approach him from the corners of his eyes. He didn't move beyond that. I bit my bottom lip nervously, praying he wasn't mad at me.

"Hey, Aiden," I greeted cautiously, pulling back to prepare myself for the explosion of fury I expected to come from his mouth.

He turned gradually. "Oh, hi, Kylie."

"Drinkin' water?" I asked casually. I tip-toed over to the counter and tapped it with my fingers.

He answered bluntly, "Yep."

"Cool, cool," I said, eyeing the room to see if the words I was trying to think up would be written on a ladle or maybe on the cover of a recipe book. No luck. "Water is cool." There was a long pause and I started to think he was one of those quiet angry people. For a reference point, the exact opposite of what I am. "How'd your match go?"

He placed his glass on the counter gently and bowed his head. The child sighed while replying, "I lost."

I frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry." I then rambled, "And listen Aiden, I am really REALLY sorry for missing your match. I never intended to sleep in. I was gonna wake up and meet you guys there but I must've fallen back asleep. I am so sorry."

The prodigy laughed, "Kylie, chill. It's no big deal. I kind of understand how you feel after losing. I just want to do nothing but sit in the dark."

I smiled, relieved. "Thanks for being so cool about this. I really am sorry though. And I'm mad at myself for missing it. I bet it was epic."

The boy shrugged. "I guess. What's awesome is I came in third even though I lost. Due to ranking and statistics and stuff I placed higher than the other dude that lost," Aiden explained.

"Are you serious? That's awesome!" I exclaimed, giving the youngling a high-five. "I can't believe I missed it. I wish I could rewind time."

"Me too."

I interrogated in excitement, "So, who did you battle? What Pokemon did he use? What Pokemon did _you_ use? Tell me all about it."

"I battled this kid Ryan who specializes in steel type Pokemon. He was tough. I didn't expect it to be so hard, ya know because I could just use fire type and water type Pokemon? But man, he just saw everything coming. Actually, it started off great because my Flareon beat his Scizor and his Skarmory. Then he beat Flareon with his Empoleon. I beat his Empoleon and his Steelix with Dragonite but his last Pokemon was… amazing."

"What was it?" I asked, shaking eagerly.

"Raichu. It was the most powerful Pokemon I have ever gone up against. It stopped every blow. It sensed every attack… every strategy. Of course the Ryan guy helped it out."

I gasped, "Wow, and I thought your Dragonite was the most invincible Pokemon there is."

"No way, this Raichu was unstoppable. It beat Dragonite, my Parasect, Floatzel, and my Lickitung. All in a row. Just like that." Aiden snapped his fingers. "I think I would've been able to beat him if I just had Dragonite use thunder punch instead of aqua tail. When he used aqua tail Raichu used thunder shock making Dragonite electrocute himself. There was probably a lot I could've done differently," Aiden sighed, peering up at the ceiling.

I placed my hand on his tiny shoulder. "That's exactly how I felt after our match. That's exactly how I feel now. I feel like… I could've done so much more or at least have tried a lot harder."

"I think you tried as hard as you could. I could tell while we were battling. You made me push and strategize in ways I was never forced to before. You put up a great fight," Aiden assured me.

I chuckled, "Man, how did you get so wise and precocious? You're more mature than I am."

Aiden flushed. "I don't know."

"Well anyway, congrats on making it so far and placing third," I told him, smiling proudly. "And sorry again for missing your match."

Aiden waved his hands reassuringly. "Don't worry about it."

The boy poured his glass of water in the sink and exited the kitchen. My guess is he was heading to his room to sulk. I wanted to do the same, but I convinced myself that my time to be upset was up. It was Aiden's turn to mope. I lost yesterday and today was a new day.

Later that day, I was sprawled out on the couch watching some news coverage on the finals of the Indigo League. There was a series of reports focusing on the last two competitors. This consisted of broadcasters continually gasping at the statistics about the trainers provided by the teleprompters.

After hearing a loud clank, I turned my head to see the front door's doorknob rotate. In walked Penny and Jackson who were both laughing. Jackson held a Styrofoam box that must've contained leftover food.

"Where have you guys been?" I yawned.

Penny dropped her green bag on the coach and informed me contently, "We went out to a late lunch."

I flashed her a look of suspicion. "What'd you lose a bet?"

The light brown haired girl placed her hands on her hips. "No! Believe it or not we actually had a good time."

I slapped my knee thinking it was a joke. I stopped abruptly after seeing Penny's somber expression. "Wait, that wasn't sarcasm?"

She answered shortly, "No."

I shot off the sofa, exclaiming in disbelief, "But you never give him the light of day!"

"We just ate food. What's the big deal?" Jackson asked.

Penny concurred, "Yeah, what's the problem? It's not like we're dating or in love or anything."

My eyes widened in shock. "Sorry, I'm just not used to you two getting along… it's kind of weirding me out to be honest."

Penny opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the sound of a twisting doorknob. The four adults strutted through the front door and added a noticeable amount of volume to the room. They were all noisily chatting and chortling politely at their comrade's mother suddenly inhaled, causing herself to choke. She darted towards me and firmly straddled my shoulders with her palms.

"Kylie honey, you, your father, and I are going to a seminar that the Pokemon League is hosting this evening. It's called 'Your Family and Pokemon'. It's an informative lecture all about the way families and Pokemon communicate and how families treat Pokemon in different cultures. Doesn't that just sound invigorating?"

I glanced over my shoulder at my two friends, giving them a look of dread. I knew even the most monstrous amount of refusal wouldn't effect my mother's decision on this forced family outing.

Jackson quickly stepped forward. "Actually Mrs. Scorch, there's a mandatory meeting for all Indigo Plateau participants tonight," the boy fibbed.

My mother demanded, "How come I wasn't informed of this earlier?"

I shrugged. "Sorry mom, I just found out about it this morning."

The woman huffed, "Fine. Your father and I will just go then. We'll tell you all about it some other time."

"Looking forward to it," I commented, hiding the hint of sarcasm from my mother.

My parents left for the exhibit while Professor Oak and Ms. Ketchum decided to take a trip to the Pokemon League Hall of Fame, thus leaving Jackson, Penny, and I solely in the living room once again.

I sighed in relief, "Thanks Jackson, I owe you one."

"No prob."

Penny asked, "The final match is tomorrow, right? Are we going to go see it?"

"I would like to," I replied in interest. "I think we're gonna."

"We should."

Before we knew it, darkness took over the skies and the moon shuttered in the chilly night air. Everyone tucked themselves into bed and slept soundly, but me on the other hand, I was finding it difficult to shut my eyes. I snuck a glimpse at the clock on my nightstand and it read 1:24 a.m. There was no point in me staying in bed if I couldn't sleep, so I figured I would go find some infomercials to watch on the television.

I walked into the living room to see my father sitting on the left end of the couch. A thick paperback was folded in his hands and narrow reading glasses were almost falling off the tip of his nose. A single lamp shone down on the light tawny colored pages while the remainder of the room was dark. The house was quiet as the rest of occupants slumbered. I took a step forward causing a floorboard to creak and alarm my father of my entrance. He peered over the tops of his frames and smiled after spotting me next to the television.

"Hey Kylie, I thought you'd be in bed by now," my dad assumed.

I took three long, casual strides over towards the couch and exhaled, "Yeah well, I couldn't sleep."

The middle aged man crooned, "Me neither."

I sat comfortably on my calf on the middle section of the leather sofa. I faced my father while resting my elbow on the crown of the couch.

My father looked at me in slight concern. "Is something bothering you, sweetheart?"

I hesitated, first gathering some spit in my mouth to moisten my mouth and throat. I fiddled my thumbs hoping this conversation I was about to initiate wouldn't be too awkward for my father to endure.

"How did you know that mom was the one?" I asked abruptly.

My father pulled back as if the question was an actual object and it almost hit him in the face. He pulled off his glasses and nibbled them, thinking of how to properly answer me.

"When you truly love someone you know."

"How do you know when you truly love someone?"

My dad laughed, "Well, that's a mighty good question. Where is all of this coming from?"

I shifted my legs into a pretzel formation and glanced down at my feet. "For a while I was pretty certain I knew what love was and what it felt like… but lately I'm not so positive."

The grown man explained, "When I fell in love with your mother it was nothing like I ever felt before."

"That's not vague," I teased.

He chuckled. "Sorry, but love is a hard thing to explain. It's almost indescribable. It can only be described by the beholder."

"Well you're a beholder, aren't you?" I quipped.

The man closed his book and placed it on the arm of the sofa. He folded his glasses and hung them on his shirt collar.

"When I met your mother I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else but her. I knew I wanted to settle down and raise a family with her. I knew that I loved her because I was always happy when I was around her. And I knew that I loved her because whenever we were away from each other I couldn't stop thinking about her," he explained passionately. "However, not all love feels the same."

"Sometimes I think the world defines love for us," I responded. "Society decides what it means to be in love and not to be in love."

"Each person has there own way of knowing whether they're in love or not," my father said stroking his bushy mustache.

"How did you know you loved mom?" I asked.

My dad reminded me tolerantly, "Well, like I said before, I knew I loved her because she made me happy."

I giggled in embarrassment, "You're right. Sorry about that."

"You should always do what makes you happy, Kylie," my dad told me. He then eyed me in suspicion. "You're not wondering all of this because you think you're… in love… do you?" he gulped, not able to handle the fact that his little girl could possibly take that major step on the staircase of life. "Do you- uh… have 'feelings' for that Owen boy?" He avoided using the word love anymore.

I blushed uncontrollably and denied, "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Okay," the man affirmed skeptically.

I hopped off the couch. I stretch my arms upward and yawned, "Thanks for your help, dad."

"Was I of any assistance with your problem?" he inquired.

I smiled drowsily. "Yes, you were. So thanks."

He beamed back and picked up his book to continue reading. "Any time, sweetheart. Now go back to bed. It's late."

"Good night," I parted.

The next morning I woke up on time. The Indigo League finals were taking place at noon and our group decided to go view the ultimate battle. The stadium was packed with rowdy teenage boys dancing around with their chests painted bright colors. People were scanning the area for open seats and some groups would even have to split up in order to claim seats and observe the fighting event. Luckily, Professor Oak came early and reserved a row of chairs for our party.

It was the most people I had ever seen at a Pokemon match before, but that was no surprise. The mix of people talking cohered into a deafening roar of chatter that made it impossible to hear the person next to you. Loud music boomed over the speakers and fractions of the crowd were chanting a particular contender's name.

Before the first battle started, Jackson stood up and announced, "I'm going to buy some peanuts. Does anybody else want anything?"

Penny's arm shot up like she was launching her hand into outer space. "Oh! Oh! I do! I want a cheeseburger with low fat Swiss cheese cut at a three centimeter width and mustard spread on the left side and ketchup on the right. And be sure they don't squirt it on the bun because then it'll get soggy. I also want a medium soda but I like to mix all the sodas together so be sure to get an even amount of each one. If they have raspberry iced tea remember not to have that in my soda because I hate raspberry iced tea." Jackson turned to leave but Penny continued. "Then I'll take an order of small fries with natural sea salt. If it's anything but that I will put them down your pants."

"Is that all, your majesty?" he asked. Jackson then whispered to me, "I'm not going to be able to remember all of that." I laughed.

"A few more things, I promise. I want sour patch kids but not the gross ones that are shaped like deformed children that had dreadlocks. I need the watermelon shaped kind. Then I'll have some peanut M&M's but no green ones. Oh! And this just popped into my head. You know those chocolates in the aluminum?"

"Chocolate coins?" I questioned.

She snapped her fingers in delight. "Yes! I want them too."

When I set eyes on Jackson's face I almost fell out of my seat from the hilarity. He looked about ready to crash to the ground and steam was radiating from his head. The teenage boy was overloaded with extremely detailed information. He glared at the girl perturbed before shaking his head in refusal.

"Forget it," Jackson said simply as he sat down. "Mission food has officially been cancelled," the black haired boy joked.

The music stopped and the announcer shouted into the microphone thunderously, "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages, welcome to the Indigo Plateau Pokemon League finals!" The crowd cheered vivaciously. "We are all gathered here today to witness a spectacular. Nineteen year old Ryan from Rustboro City, Hoenn versus twenty-two year old Vincent from Lavender Town, Kanto. These two men have fought their way to the top and now they've reached the acme of the competition. This match will decide it all and who will be crowned the newest Pokemon League Champion!" The audience applauded energetically once again. "Now, please welcome to the field, Ryan and Vincent!"

The two men stepped out from their tunnels and climbed their trainer podiums. They were difficult to see from so far away, but there was a monitor conveniently hinged to the upper deck on the other side of the stadium. A split screen showed both Ryan and Vincent's game faces.

Ryan was the steel type trainer Aiden faced yesterday who apparently owned an unstoppable Raichu. I didn't know much about Vincent besides the fact that he's earned every badge in all four regions. That's pretty impressive.

The match started off with Vincent selecting an oddly graceful looking slug with a spiky shell on its back.

_Lapras loves crossing the sea with people and Pokemon on its back. It understands human speech, _Dexter reported.

Ryan chose a Beedrill and the battle ensued. Vincent's Lapras not only beat Ryan's Beedrill but his Skarmory too. Ryan turned things around by releasing his all powerful Raichu. The electric mouse instantly trounced the water and ice type with one thunder bolt. Raichu next beat Vincent's Combusken, a chick-like creature with fire and fighting abilities. The match was now tied. Each trainer was down two Pokemon and it was Vincent's turn to select his next combater.

"Win or else!" Vincent grunted irritably as he hurled his third Pokeball out onto the field.

A snake composed of boulders emerged from the white light and roared mightily. It was an Onix and Ryan made the appropriate choice by withdrawing his Raichu for later use.

"All or nothing, Steelix!" Ryan exclaimed, chucking his next Pokeball in the air.

"This is going to be an interesting battle, folks. Onix is going up against his evolved form: Steelix," the announcer remarked.

Ryan commenced the skirmishing. "Steelix, use dragon breath."

Vincent countered, "Doge by using dig."

Onix immediately burrowed into the dirt and the green ray coming from Steelix completely missed Onix.

Ryan clenched his fist. "Use dig as well, Steelix."

Steelix dove head first into the ground and disappeared below the earth's crust. Both Pokemon were absent from the field and somewhere they were tunneling underground. Each trainer stood steadily waiting for their rocky warrior to emerge from below. Ryan's lip twitched in anticipation and Vincent began to sweat nervously. Everyone was quiet until we heard an agonizing groan echo from beneath us. A few women gasped at the sound and moments later Onix came crashing through the bleachers, knocking a dozen spectators out of their chairs. Steelix's entrance followed and he appeared in the center of the field. Onix came plummeting to the ground and when the referee was about to declare it unable to battle Vincent quickly protested.

"His Steelix cheated!"

"How did my Steelix cheat?"

"Not only did it fight out of bounds but it must've pulled some illegal maneuvers underground to defeat my Onix."

Ryan fired back, "Maybe your Onix is just weak."

"Take that back!" Vincent demanded.

"What moves would my Steelix do underground that it wouldn't do up here? He beat your Onix fair and square."

"Doesn't matter. Onix went flying through the bleachers which means your Steelix was playing outside the box," Vincent claimed.

"That's not true. Steelix could've hit Onix so hard from inbounds that your Onix went soaring out that far," the nineteen year old argued.

The man clucked, "I highly doubt that."

The steel type trainer hissed, "I think I know my Steelix better than you. My Pokemon would never cheat. I raised them better than that."

The dispute was never going to end at this rate, so the referee ordered the two trainers to meet at the center of the field and settle the quandary. They were all off microphone so when they collected in the middle the audience was unable to hear their conversation. A few minutes later the two boys went back to their trainer podium looking unsatisfied.

"It looks like they agreed to suspend Steelix from any further battles for the duration of the match. This means each man has three Pokemon left to utilize," the broadcaster explained.

Ryan's Scizor beat Vincent's Kangaskhan and his Murkrow. However, Vincent's last Pokemon, Shedinja thrashed Ryan's Scizor. I pulled out my Pokedex to get more information on this strange bug Pokemon.

_Shedinja is a discarded bug shell that came to life. It has been said that peering into the crack on its back can steal one's soul._

"Come on out, Raichu!" Ryan yelled, tossing his Pokeball high in the air.

The orange mouse-like creature exploded from the metal storage device and spun stylishly before landing on the ground. The ref swung his two flags in the air and the battle began.

"Vincent is down to his last Pokemon. This is his only chance to turn things around. Will he be able to triumph over Raichu?" the announcer questioned rhetorically.

"Start things off with thunder punch," Ryan ordered.

Raichu speedily stomped over towards Shedinja with electrical energy coursing through its arm. Vincent reacted by telling his ghost type Pokemon to use harden. The beetle-like creature secured its stance in the ground and a shiny extra coating of armor enveloped the Pokemon. The thunder punch sent Shedinja sliding back and the bug type Pokemon crashed into Vincent's trainer podium. Raichu darted over and pinched the Shedinja between the trainer podium and its belly by using slam. Suddenly, the electric mouse was sent skidding backwards. Raichu rolled violently before coming to a complete stop, lying on its stomach. Shedinja had hit Raichu with a shadow ball.

"Hang in there and use quick attack," Ryan instructed.

Vincent demanded, determined not to let Raichu land anymore attacks, "Leech life."

Raichu dodged the poisonous missile and continued darting towards the bug type Pokemon. However, it wasn't part of Vincent's plan to have leech life be successful. As Raichu changed its angle of running for a split second to evade the energy draining needle, Vincent told Shedinja to use sand-attack. Raichu had its guard down for that one second and would've ended up with dirt in its face, but the Pokemon curled itself up in a ball to avoid having sand land in its eyes. Vincent was upset his plan didn't work but he quickly spotted another opportunity to attack. As Raichu coiled up in a ball it wouldn't be able to see anything coming. Shedinja's tiny claw garnered black threads of energy and the Pokemon cocked its fist back to land the false swipe, but it was as if Raichu read its mind. All of the sudden, the electric type Pokemon phased into ten individual Raichu, leaving Shedinja bewildered.

"Use fury swipes until you find the right one!" Vincent growled in frustration.

Ryan pointed forward. "Quick, use thunder."

All ten Raichu unleashed powerful jolts of lightening that shocked Shedinja endlessly. As the bug type was being burnt to a crisp all of the Raichu faded back into one. I could've sworn Shedinja would've fainted after that but it was still standing, panting and wheezing. Shedinja's effort to remain standing was proven useless when Raichu knocked it out with body slam. Shedinja was proclaimed unable to battle and Ryan was officially the Pokemon League Champion.

When Shedinja toppled to the turf unconscious the crowd erupted into boisterous cheering and chanting. Ryan skipped to the center of the battling field and captured his precious Raichu in a tight and celebratory embrace. They zoomed in on the two companions and you could see tears of pride pouring from the teenage boy's face. Almost the entire stadium gave the boy a standing ovation. I clapped politely and smiled, only wishing that were me out there instead of him. I'm sure half the people in the stands wanted to be him.

When we got back to the house Penny, Jackson, and Aiden were missing. We all stood around in the living room and next thing I knew the adults were lugging their suitcases out of their bedrooms.

"Going somewhere?" I asked them.

My mother answered, "Yes, home."

"You're not staying for the closing ceremonies tomorrow?"

"No, your mother and I have to head back to work. We've taken quite a few days off to come here and now we have to go earn a living," my father sighed.

I nodded. "I understand." I turned to the professor and Ms. Ketchum. "Thank you so much for coming."

"It was our pleasure," Professor Oak beamed.

Ms. Ketchum added, "Yes, it was a lot of fun. Reminds me of the days where I would go see Ash fight in his battles."

"Good bye, Kylie," the Pokemon researcher waved as he walked out the front door.

Ms. Ketchum sung, "See you back in Pallet!"

The two marched out the front door with their luggage leaving me and my parents alone.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" my mother asked in sudden concern, able to show her annoying motherly qualities now that the rest of the company had left the room.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You seem a little down," she replied honestly.

I yawned, "I think I'm just a little tired. It's been a busy week."

"Very true," my parents laughed softly.

I hugged my father. "Bye, dad, I love you."

"I love you too."

Next, I hugged my mother, who surprisingly wasn't sobbing yet. "See ya, mom."

"Be safe, honey. Don't get into too much trouble," she whispered. The middle aged woman squeezed me so tightly I almost snapped in half.

"Okay, mom, let me go!" I begged. "I love you too!"

She whaled, "Just let me cling to my baby for one last moment! I'm a mother I have the right!"

"You're gonna suffocate me," I told her.

She finally released me and the lower half of my body revitalized its blood flow. I hugged both of my parents one last time before letting them head towards the door.

"We are so proud of you, honey. You did such a great job," my mother praised.

"Thanks."

My father saluted. "We'll see you back home."

"Bye," I waved.

They closed the door behind them. Two hours later Jackson and Penny walked through the front door, finding me on the couch watching another news report on the Indigo Plateau.

"Where have you guys been?" I asked.

Penny answered cheerfully, setting a few shopping bags on the floor, "Jackson decided he wanted to take me shopping."

Jackson amended, "Correction: You decided to drag me shopping where I had to pay for everything. Big difference."

I chuckled. "Well anyway, all the adults went home so now it's just us kids again."

Penny mocked, "Oh, aren't they afraid us wild, crazy teenagers are gonna tear through the city and cause destruction?"

I added jokingly, "Yeah, I'm sure my mother is crying hysterically just thinking about all the drugs and alcohol we'll get ourselves into."

"Where's Aiden?" asked Jackson, surveying the area for the small boy.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since we went to the match."

Jackson tapped his chin. "I wonder where he is."

We spent the rest of the night watching TV, talking, and pigging out on junk food. It was nice to just hang out with Penny and Jackson and do real teenager activities. We stayed up to about midnight before heading to bed. The next day was the closing ceremonies where every Pokemon League participant would march through the Indigo Plateau one last time. I was genuinely excited.


	83. The Closing Ceremonies

Chapter 83

It was the day of the closing ceremonies and there was a noticeably sorrowful atmosphere around the Pokemon Village. Everyone was starting to pack up their things and everyone seemed to move a lot slower. Jackson, Penny, Aiden, and I strolled to the village diner to get our last Pokemon League breakfast. It'll be the last time we won't have to prepare our own morning meal.

I was going to miss it all. The whole experience passed with one blink of the eyes. Sadly, I wasn't sure what was going to happen after it ended. I wondered if I would be able to maintain my friendships with Aiden and more importantly Jackson and Penny. Since they all lived in different towns or even different continents of the world, how on earth was I to stay in contact with all of them? Sometimes e-mailing and phone conversations aren't enough. These thoughts saddened me even more.

Penny detected my cheerless aura. "Are you okay?"

I sighed. "I'm just thinking about the future."

She babbled, "I hate doing that. It always makes me depressed. Like this one time, I was thinking 'Oh my god, I have to decide what I want to be when I grow up!' My school had career day and all the career choices I got were stupid. Like one of them was a zookeeper. How is a girl like me supposed to pick up animal poop? Seriously, with a face this gorgeous I either had to add some beauty to the Pokemon trainer community or be on television."

Jackson commented sarcastically, "And the Pokemon community thanks you for gracing us with your outstanding good looks."

Penny answered, not realizing he was joking, "You're welcome."

"Do any of you guys know what you're doing after this?" I asked. I looked the three of them over to see if any of them had a response.

Aiden finally replied, "I guess I'm going back home."

"Same here," Jackson and Penny concurred.

I pouted then mumbled, "Well that sucks."

Penny exclaimed optimistically, "Let's just enjoy the rest of the time we have together!"

We reached the diner at last with our grumbling stomachs nagging us for their morning nourishment. The hostess showed us our booth and without us even discussing who was going to sit next to whom, Jackson and Penny sat down next to each other. I looked at them stunned but when no one noticed my strange expression, directed at them, I sat down. Soon after, a waitress who looked around the age of twenty, probably paying her way through college, took our orders. She slid her pen behind her ear and left to give the slip of paper to the cook.

The four of us started talking about how delicious the dessert menu looked when we spotted someone approach us from the corners of our eyes. I turned my head to see a short girl standing at the edge of our table. She was young, about eight years old, and had beautiful, fiery red hair which was pulled back in two curly pigtails. They were finished with shiny blue ribbon which matched her sundress. The garment was printed with yellow flowers which matched her neon yellow tennis shoes. She had a pentagonal face with rosy, freckle covered cheeks.

"Hello," Jackson greeted guardedly.

Penny squealed while clapping her hands together, "Oh, she's so cute!"

"How can we help you?" I asked the little girl kindly.

She rocked on her toes shyly and avoided making eye contact with me. "Uhm."

A woman in her mid thirties placed her hands on the little girl's shoulders. She had her straight red hair styled in a bob cut and wore fashionable skinny jeans with a pink sweater. The woman was most likely her mother.

The lady encouraged, nudging her daughter forward, "It's okay, Lily. Don't be shy."

"So your name is Lily?" I questioned, trying to include as much sweetness into my voice as possible.

When the little girl didn't answer the mother did. "Yes, and she's a really big fan of yours. She's just too shy to say anything."

I pulled back in disbelief. "Really?"

The woman asked, pointing, "You're Kylie Scorch, right?"

Penny replied with a haughty smile, "That's her alright."

"C'mon Lily, tell Kylie what you tell mommy all the time," the woman begged slightly.

My heart started pounded and I could feel my face burning red. It was somewhat embarrassing waiting for a little girl to rant and rave about me. Then again, it felt fantastic to know I had a fan out there.

"I really like your Pokemon," she finally said.

I beamed proudly. "Thanks."

After me saying that Lily felt a lot more comfortable. It was as if she had this shell around her that she just shed off. Lily cracked her shoulders back and raised her chin, appearing more confident and at ease.

"I watched all of your battles. They were so cool! I love fire Pokemon."

I noted, not really knowing what to say, "Fire Pokemon are great."

"I'm your biggest fan," she admitted.

Her mother nodded, "She really is."

Lily continued, "And now when I'm old enough I want to be a fire Pokemon trainer just like you. I want to enter the Pokemon League someday with all my cool fire Pokemon and win!"

I chuckled, "That's awesome. I can't wait to see the day."

"Can I has your autograph?" Lily bounced up and down as she pled.

The young mother contained her daughter politely. "Now, now Lily, we don't want to disturb these kids' breakfast any longer."

I assured the woman, reaching for a pen and paper, "No, no, it's cool."

"Yay!" Lily cheered.

After writing a message to the little girl and signing it at the bottom I handed the sheet of paper to her. Lily hugged the paper to her chest and thanked me happily.

"Anytime," I told her.

The mother and her daughter skipped off to their table and I smiled uncontrollably. She reminded me of how I look up to Ash Ketchum. I couldn't believe that I finally gained a fan. I was one step closer to becoming a household name. Before, I was feeling down about how I would soon have to separate from my friends, but knowing I inspired one kid out there made the whole experience worth it.

We finished our breakfast and headed back to the house to start packing our things. A process I was not looking forward to commencing. I took a shower before going to my room where Penny was lying on her bed and Jackson was sitting on the computer chair.

"Have you guys started packing?" I asked while drying my wet hair with a towel.

They answered in unison, "Nope."

I reminded them, "You people realize that we have to be out of here by tomorrow morning."

The two replied accord, "Yep."

I rolled my eyes and chortled at the pair of procrastinators. Penny sprung off her bed when hearing the faint ringing of the telephone in the distance.

"I'll get it," she announced before exiting the room in a hurry.

Jackson watched her closely as she disappeared from the room and closed the door on her way out. He turned his head swiftly and narrowed his eyes at me with a resolute expression.

Jackson shot up from his chair when the coast was clear. "I need you to do me a favor."

I questioned unwillingly, "What is it?"

"Penny and I have oddly been getting along lately."

"I've noticed."

Jackson gulped, "I need you to find out if Penny likes me."

I spat in laughter, "HA! Yeah right, I am not playing the junior high dating game for you. Sorry, buddy." I patted the teenage boy on the shoulder and walked towards the door.

Jackson smirked. "Really? Because I recall a certain someone saying, quote, 'Thanks Jackson, I owe you one' yesterday."

"Damn it," I muttered. I wheeled about and presented the raven haired boy with a phony smile. "What is it exactly you want me to do?"

"Just ask Penny if she likes me. That's all."

I raised my brow at the boy. "I didn't know you were interested in Penny that sort of way."

Jackson eyed me skeptically. "Where have you been?"

"Anyway, how am I supposed to get Penny to confess that she likes you? I mean if she did like you- she's the type that would've blurted it out by now."

"I wouldn't be so sure. There's a lot more to her than you think."

"You're kidding, right?" I chuckled. "We're talking about the girl that thought Butterfingers were actual human fingers covered in butter."

"I don't care how you find out, okay? Just let me know when you do," Jackson grumbled before leaving the room.

Ten minutes later I found Penny in the kitchen. She placed a frozen quesadilla on a metal tray then inserted the metal tray in the microwave. I was about to warn the girl of her thoughtless cooking mistake but it was too late. She pressed the COOK button and seconds later threads of electricity were sparking off of the metal tray. Penny covered her ears as the loud cracks thundered in the microwave so I was forced to rush over and remove the tray myself. I chucked the metal sheet onto the counter before burning my fingers badly. The tips of them stung for a minute but other than that I think I saved myself from getting burned.

"You're not supposed to microwave metal, loser," I teased.

She giggled, "Uh oh, whoops."

"Listen, can I ask you a question? It's kind of dumb really," I laughed awkwardly.

Penny shrugged. "Sure."

"Do you have feel-"

"Hey Kylie, can you help me carry down my stuff?" Aiden asked.

I jumped not realizing he had entered the kitchen. "Yeah, no problem."

I went upstairs to assist Aiden with carrying his luggage down the steep steps. He had three large duffle bags, all which weighed a ton. After piling the baggage near the door I went back in the kitchen to continue my uncomfortable conversation with Penny. However, she was no longer there. Great, now I was going to have to search for her just to repay Jackson with this humiliating deed.

After thirty minutes of unsuccessful searching I decided to eat lunch. Then I went to my room where Penny was packing her things. Victory.

"Hey Penny, want to play truth or dare?" I suggested casually.

"But whenever I ask if you want to play that you always say no," Penny responded.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Well, today is your lucky day!" Penny sat on her bed and folded her hands, staring up at me like an excited puppy. "Okay, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she immediately answered.

I exhaled in annoyance, since that wasn't the option I wanted her to pick. My hopes were that she would select truth and in that case she would have to answer my question sincerely.

"Okay, I dare you… to eat a banana ketchup ice cream sandwich," I proposed.

We went into the kitchen where Penny fetched an ice cream sandwich from the freezer. I removed the top brown cake from the bottom and applied slices of banana and mass amounts of ketchup to the once delectable dessert. Penny watched this process in disgust but ate the whole thing sportingly. I was amazed she ate it so zealously.

"Your turn," she burped. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

She quickly interrogated, "Do you love Owen?"

"I am not answering that."

"But you picked truth," she pointed out.

I fired back, "And I am _truthfully_ refusing to answer that question." Penny frowned unsatisfied. "Okay, truth or dare?"

"ONE BIG SLOPPY HELPING OF DARE!" she commanded loudly, shaking her fists in the air gloriously.

"I dare you to lick the toilet seat," I stated.

Penny scowled in repulsion. "That's disgusting."

"You have to do it," I reminded her.

She sighed, "I know, I know."

The two of us hovered over the toilet, gazing down at its white seat. The water swayed low in the bowl and an indescribable stench reeked from the toilet.

"Peoples' butts have touched that," Penny whispered to me.

"You're the one that chose dare," I whispered back. I wasn't quite sure why we were whispering.

Penny swallowed. "Okay, here I go."

"It has to be a long one too. No rinky dink taps with the tip of your tongue. That doesn't count," I added.

Penny commented angrily, "You're a cruel, cruel friend, you know that?"

"I don't see licking!" I sang tauntingly.

Penny clenched her hair to the side so strands wouldn't fall in the toilet water. The girl squeezed her eyes closed tightly, hoping the toilet seat would be replaced with something more appetizing. Penny bent over and dragged her tongue along the white plastic letting out a few grunts of disgust whilst doing so. She whipped her head back, a couple of tears collecting in the crease of her eyes.

She whimpered, "There, I did it."

I crossed my arms and nodded. "Very impressive."

Penny rubbed her hands together deviously. "Now it's time for revenge. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," I replied rapidly.

Penny snapped her fingers. "Damn it. Okay… have you ever cheated in a Pokemon battle?"

I tapped my chin in thought, "Hmm, probably."

Penny's jaw dropped. "You bad girl!" She wagged her finger at me.

I stared at her doubtfully. "Oh, like you haven't?"

"You're right, I probably have."

We moved ourselves to the living room to continue our game in a less revolting environment. I was positive after those two outrageous dares Penny would surely choose truth this time around. However, I was proven wrong once again when she selected dare.

"I dare you to…" I looked around for a worthy, risky endeavor that could possibly scare Penny into selecting truth the next round. "To streak."

Penny looked at me dreadfully. "Where?"

"Down the street and back."

"I'll do it."

I gasped, "You will?!"

"You bet I will!" she exclaimed, running for the door, striping her clothes off in the process.

I was lucky to see nothing but a tan blob dart down the street screaming all sorts of nonsense and different gibberish, and Penny was fortunate that no one else was outside at the time. The girl rushed into the house holding her clothes where they covered classified locations. She panted heavily while scurrying towards the bathroom. Minutes later the courageous teenage girl emerged.

"I can't believe you just did that," I uttered in shock.

She brushed some imaginary dust particles off her shoulder. "What can I say? I'm a bold soul, Kylie."

"I guess so."

"Truth or dare?" Penny wagered.

I answered promptly, "Truth."

"Ugh, that's no fun!" Penny complained.

"Fine then, I pass," I resolved.

"You can't do that," Penny protested.

"And why not?" I asked.

"Because it's unfair," Penny argued.

"Says who? You never established that I couldn't pass when we first started playing," I pointed out.

She muffled, "Touche."

"Now, truth," I said melodiously, making it sound like the most delightful thing in the world, hoping that little alteration in selection would possess her to opt for that. "Or dare," I said harshly, making it sound like the nastiest option to come about. "And let me warn you, the dare will the grossest, most awfulest thing you will ever be forced to do. So pick truth!"

"Sorry, Kylie, I'm gonna have to go with dare," Penny informed me, wearing a guilty grin.

"WHAT THE HELL WOMAN?! OH MY GOD, STOP PICKING DARE BEFORE I EXPLODE!" I boomed furiously, shaking the teenage girl by the collar.

She replied, her voice pulsating as she was shaken back and forth, "I thought you'd catch on by now. I've never turned down a dare before."

"What?!" I shoved her, pure frustration running through my veins. "Why couldn't you have told me that sooner?"

Penny rolled her eyes dopily. "Because if I told you than I knew you wouldn't want to play."

I was about to embark on a curse filled rampage but I stopped myself after thinking up a brilliant strategy.

"I dare you to tell me whether you like Jackson or not as more than a friend," I stated proudly.

Penny's eyes widened with surprise, caught off guard by my clever challenge. "What?" she asked hesitantly.

"Tell me, woman, before I blow the roof off this house," I ordered impatiently. I was sick of playing this game. I just wanted to find out once and for all so I wouldn't have this lingering over my head any longer.

Penny blushed. "Well-" she began.

She was then interrupted by Jackson who was poking his head out from the hallway. "Hey Kylie, can I talk to you in the kitchen real quick?"

I pushed myself off the couch and followed Jackson into the culinary room.

"So, did she tell you anything?" he asked eagerly.

"She was about to when you oh-so kindly barged in!"

"Well, go back in there and find out then!"

"Uh uh, no way," I refused. "I'm not playing match maker any longer. I've had enough of this. I've witnessed far too much nudity for one day, thank you. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself, buddy." I pat the boy on the shoulder sympathetically before strutting out of the room.

The four of us finished packing our things and the house seemed spotless. It appeared like we never even stayed there, the only remains being our luggage piled up near the front door. I could hear the clock tower in the center of the Pokemon Village alarming its lodgers that it was 5:30, meaning there were thirty more minutes before the closing ceremonies began. Our tetrad spun about to take what could be our group's last serene look at the log cabin. The beautiful chandelier sparkled as the setting sun shone upon the thousand tiny facades of crystal. All the lights were off but the microwave's digital clock was visible from where we stood. Like one could every so often, as we stood there silently, we could hear the cabin creaking back and forth, almost as if the home was breathing. This place was practically home to the four of us now. For the past week or so we resided in this place and made dozens of priceless memories. While in the beginning a few other occupants stayed here as well, it always felt like our place and just ours. I started choking up while moseying out the door. The whole experience just flew by so fast. Life was flying by so fast.

Just like in the opening ceremonies, the two hundred or so participants waited in four different quadrants before marching out to the center where the ceremony would begin. While we waited there in the dimly lit tunnel, time passed slowly. The large faction lingered impatiently, everyone doing a unique representation of their impenitentness. One man was tapping his foot, another kid was whistling, and a young woman was chomping on her gum. All these tedious activities made me oddly nervous.

Finally, a Pokemon League Official waved to us and our herd of trainers immediately started marching onto the field. There was some bothersome pushing at first but once everyone entered the stadium everything settled down. The four groups met in the center and aligned themselves appropriately. Mr. Charles Goodshow sauntered onto the stage to speak.

"Welcome everyone to the Indigo League Closing Ceremonies. While I am sad to be concluding this year's festivities I am happy to have witnessed all the skillful battling that I did. It is always a delight to see people of all ages come together and share their love for Pokemon and the thrill of battle. No matter if you won or lost, each and every one of you should be proud of yourselves. You achieved high greatness for getting this far which is why each of you will be awarded with an official Indigo League badge," the elderly man spoke, holding up the large pin. It was much larger and fancier than any of the other eight badges I earned.

Every trainer walked on stage to receive their Pokemon League badge and shake hands with Mr. Goodshow. This procedure took about an hour to complete. When my turn to scale the small case of stairs and walk on stage arrived, I almost forgot how to walk. The annoyed trainer behind me had to give me a nudge to make me walk forward. I picked up the badge from the container and pinched it as if I were pinching the leg of an innocent insect. I held it carefully and proceeded to shake hands with Mr. Goodshow.

"Congratulations, Kylie." The man winked.

I looked at him with surprise. "You remember my name?"

"Of course!" he replied enthusiastically. "It doesn't hurt that you came in eighth place as well."

I nodded respectfully and smiled bashfully. "Thank you, sir."

"Good luck to you, Kylie."

I climbed down the stairs and gazed at my badge in amazement. Not to mention, it was an absolute honor to have the President of the Pokemon League Conference recognize me and wish me luck. That was pretty awesome as well.

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate three people in particular. Congratulations to Aiden from Eterna City, Sinnoh for placing third. Congratulations to Vincent from Lavender Town, Kanto for placing second. Most of all, congratulations to Ryan from Rostboro City, Hoenn for achieving the ultimate title of Pokemon Champion!"

The crowd cheered overzealously. All two hundred or more Pokemon trainers accepted their badges and the annual fireworks commenced. The multicolored dazzling explosions lit up the evening sky. The sun was still shining it last few rays so a pink horizon illuminated the distance. The sound of crackling, glistening explosives echoed throughout the valley. Fireworks continually exploded thunderously in the sky before showering down, separating into hundreds of glimmering flecks. Everyone on the field and in the stands stared up in awe. The finale arrived where dozens of fireworks blasted in the air at once. Colors mixed and overlapped each other and the repeated popping and booming sound filled our ear drums. When the show was completed the audience clapped. The final act of the night: extinguishing the flame of Moltres.

"It is time we extinguish the flame of Moltres, signifying the competition's end until next spring," Mr. Goodshow explained.

An intense wind passed and with one blink of the eyes the large flame disappeared. Everyone cheered energetically as the trainers exited the battling field. As we neared the tunnel, I knew this would be my last few steps I would ever take on the Indigo Plateau battling turf. I took my last couple of strides slowly, causing the people behind me to have a bit of a jam, but I did not care. I wanted these steps to mean something. The tile floor grew closer. I inhaled mass amounts of air before exhaling contently and stepping into the tunnel. I peered over my shoulder to see the dying sight of the Pokemon field and soon my view of the sacred place was blocked by an older gentleman's head. The Pokemon League was officially over.

It was almost nine o'clock when we got back to the house. It would be our last night sleeping in the log cabin. I was tempted to ask my three friends if they wanted to have a sleepover on the living room floor, but I saved myself from the embarrassment.

"I can't believe it's over…" Aiden sighed, his head bowed.

"Yeah," the rest of us sighed along.

Aiden confessed, "I'm really gonna miss you guys."

"Me too," I concurred sadly.

"Me three," Penny agreed.

Jackson joined in, "Me four."

"Hey Kylie, you know this morning when you asked us what we're gonna do when all of this ends? Well, I kind of didn't tell you something," Penny admitted. "I got an offer to work as a trainer at the Celadon Gym, where they specialize in grass types."

"Yeah, and I forgot to tell you that I'm planning on traveling to Hoenn to enter contests with Rattata," Jackson informed me.

"And I'm probably heading to the Orange Islands in the fall to compete in that league," said Aiden.

A look of guilt shadowed all three of their faces.

I stared at them somberly. "So I'm the only one without a plan?"

"We didn't want to tell you because we didn't want to stress you out or make you feel bad," explained Jackson considerately.

"We're sorry," Penny apologized, rubbing my back gently.

I assured them with a halfhearted smile, "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault that I didn't plan ahead. You guys all have great opportunities and you should totally go for them."

Jackson questioned, "You don't have a single idea of what you could do after this?"

"Nope."

"Why don't you come to Hoenn with me?" he invited.

Aiden offered, "And you're always welcome to come to the Orange Islands with me."

"I would ask if you wanted to come with me but you'd probably just get in the way," Penny shrugged.

I narrowed my eyes at the girl. "Thanks." I yawned, "Anyway, I'm not too worried about it. I have the entire summer to figure out my arrangements for the rest of the year. I'll probably just relax, train a little with my Pokemon, and see what comes to me," I declared.

We were all exhausted from the long day of packing our things and attending the closing ceremonies, so when this down putting conversation was complete we all headed to our bedrooms for the last time. I slithered my way between the sheets and analyzed the wall while a million thoughts ran through my head. Eventually, my eyes shut and I fell asleep.

"What time do we have to be out of here by?" Jackson asked the next morning, shoveling a spoonful of sugary cereal into his mouth.

"Eleven," I answered, zipping one of my bags, which was compacted with clothes, closed.

"WHAT?!" a shrill cry came from the bathroom. Out ran Penny holding a hair straightener halfway through her light brown hair, with other clips and barrettes fastening clusters of hair in all crazy directions. In her other hand she held eye liner which she was also trying to apply at the same time. "There is not enough time between now and then for me to get ready!"

"Why are you getting all dolled up? We're riding a stinky, old bus to my house," I reminded her.

"Stinky, old bus or not, it's still in public," she countered, storming back into the bathroom to complete her morning routine.

Penny was taking the bus to my house where she would then take a ferry back to her home town. Jackson was riding a train back to Celadon City where he lived and Aiden was flying back to his home in Sinnoh.

Jackson, Aiden, and I searched the house for anything we may have left behind. After securing a few last minute things into our suitcases we were officially done packing. While we waited for Penny to finish getting ready I poured some cereal into a bowl for breakfast. From the corners of my eyes I spotted Penny walking out of the bathroom and placing her shower necessities and make up items into her bag. I was about to take my first bite of cereal when there was a gentle knock at the door. Other than Penny I was the closest to the front door, and she was too busy digging through her things, so I set my bowl on the counter and went to greet whoever was knocking at our door.

I twisted the knob slowly and swung the door open to be utterly rattled. I was almost paralyzed from shock.

"Owen?"

**A/N: Want to read more of my stories? Visit my profile to vote for what my next fanfic should be about!**


	84. The PSJ Conclusion

I twisted the knob slowly and swung the door open to be utterly rattled. I was almost paralyzed from shock.

"Owen?"

The blond haired boy greeted reservedly, "Hey."

Without thinking I slammed the door closed and pressed my back up against it, as if he were an axe murderer trying to break in.

"It's Owen!" I declared in a whisper.

"Yeah, and you just slammed the door in his face!" Penny articulated by waving her arms frantically in the air.

"What do I do?" I questioned. My heart began to race.

"Let him in, of course!" Penny advised strongly.

I rejected, "I can't do that with all you guys around!"

Jackson proposed, starting to stand up from his seat, "Fine then, we'll just leave."

I hindered the three from leaving, "No, no, it's okay. I'll just go out there with him."

"Maybe it's better if you had us around as backup," Penny suggested with a shrug of the shoulders.

"What's going on? What's the big deal?" Aiden asked. He stared at each of us, waiting for one of us to explain the whole state of affairs.

Penny assured the boy, grinning cockily, "You wouldn't understand, kid."

"Okay, here I go," I announced.

I pivoted my feet cautiously, as if I were playing a game of twister. I wrapped my fingers around the gold doorknob and clenched it tightly, my sweaty palms making it difficult to do so. I inhaled and exhaled heavily several times, my eyes shut, waiting for the courage to yank the door open to find me. I wiggled my fingers on and off the doorknob in a wave-like formation multiple times before turning the knob to the left. The handle made a shifting, clanking sound.

"It's the other way," Jackson pointed out.

"I know!" I snapped.

Finally, I rotated the doorknob in the correct direction and pulled the door open. Owen stood there with a puzzled expression. I stepped out on the small porch, gently closing the front door behind me. Beams of morning sunlight blinded me as the sun was moments away from reaching its peak. Rough breezes bustled by causing strands of my hair to whip me in the eyes and cheeks, as if I wasn't already having a hard enough time gaping at the boy I hadn't seen in weeks.

I cleared the locks from my face and greeted, "Hi."

"Hi," he quickly replied.

I had played this scene over and over in my head but already I had messed the entire thing up by slamming the door in his face. Maybe I was dreaming? If I were he probably would've killed me in some unthinkable way by now. Thinking about all my previous nightmares made me even more nervous. On top of that, my stomach turned itself upside down and I felt like I was going to vomit.

"So you came all this way to see me just to say 'hi'?" I asked.

"No, actually I came all this way to see Penny. Is she around?" he responded sarcastically, peering into the window acting as if he were searching for the girl.

I crossed my arms and plastered a fake grin across my face. "Funny how I thought people could change but evidently I was wrong."

Owen replied promptly, "If my memory serves me right you were the one to reject me… so shouldn't that make you the apologetic one right about now?"

"Your memory must've forgotten that you ran away before giving me a chance to say anything," I countered.

Owen huffed, anger filling his voice, "My memory certainly remembers you saying you weren't over your Rockétte girlfriend Lucien, which was a load of crap."

"How would you have felt if you found out Amber was working for Team Rocket and was just using you?" I growled.

Owen scoffed, "It's not like you were in love with kid! I bet you didn't even like him."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, that's why I accepted his ring and everything."

Owen presumed unjustly, "You only dated him because you couldn't bear seeing me with someone else."

I argued, "Believe it or not, Owen, not everyone is out to get a piece of you."

"You know, I don't even know why I came all this way." The teenage boy started his way down the front steps.

I opened my mouth to fire another witty insult at him, but I stopped myself. I had pictured this moment so many times. Like I said before, I replayed different scenarios of what I would like to happen over in my head. This meaningless bickering was only ruining my chances of patching things up with Owen even more. My body trembled even worse than it was before. I shook with worry. Worried that the last thing I could possibly say to Owen is some empty, worthless slur to make myself feel better at the time, but in the long run it would only make myself feel terrible.

"Owen, wait." I pinched the bridge of my nose and calmed myself down. "Is this how you imagined it?"

"Imagined what?" he repeated crossly.

"Us reuniting," I answered. "This isn't how it's supposed to happen."

He hung his head, making it impossible for me to read his expression.

"Kiss her!" a strange voice shouted. We both looked aside to see Penny and Jackson hovering near the window with it wide open. "Why isn't he kissing her?" Penny asked Jackson undertone.

"She broke his heart so she should kiss him," Jackson disagreed.

"You know what? I don't care who kisses who as long as someone gets to it," Penny admitted, placing her hands firmly on her hips. She popped her fist in the air encouragingly and shouted, "C'mon Kylie, don't be shy! Give him a smack attack on the lips!"

My face burned red with humiliation and fury. "You guys realize we can hear you!" I yelled to them in embarrassment. The two looked away and tried to act casual by whistling and fiddling their thumbs. "We can see you too," I told them in annoyance.

Jackson and Penny squatted below the windowsill where they were no longer visible.

"Hey Jackson, is he kissing her?" Penny quizzed.

Jackson replied irritably, "I don't know!"

"HEY OWEN, ARE YOU KISSING HER?" Penny screamed from her hidden location.

The two of us planted our faces in our palms from mortification.

Owen proposed in a sigh, "Let's pretend that never happened."

"Alright, let's just start over," I suggested.

"Okay."

"Listen Owen, I never ever meant to hurt you that night and I understand why you're still furious with me. I never should have hidden my feelings from you. I was caught by surprise and scared. I didn't have much time to soak it all in," I explained sincerely. I took in a long breath before continuing, "And I am so, so sorry for everything I did."

"Me too," he interrupted. "Look man, I'm sorry for running off with Amber. That was dumb."

I chuckled, scratching the back of my neck, "Yeah that made me pretty pissed."

"You should've listened to me in the first place and not have forced me into going to my junior prom," Owen remarked.

I admitted, "I guess that is what caused this whole mess in the first place."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do next year when I have to start attending school again. Those people are a bunch of pansies."

I raised my brow. "Aren't they all your friends, Mr. Popular?"

He shrugged. "I guess."

"But anyway, just think that if we never went to your junior prom none of this would've ever happened and who knows where we would be or what we'd be doing right now."

He gestured towards the porch below our feet. "Probably standing in this exact spot… just we'd be together not fighting like we are now."

I colored rosy and looked away. "But if you had never said to me what you said that night… I don't know, mayb-"

"Fuck it, I can't contain myself anymore."

All of the sudden, Owen slid his hand around my neck and kissed me passionately on the lips. I rested my hands on his well built shoulders and surrendered to temptation. We parted and I couldn't help but smile. I could feel his warm breath on my lips. We were just inches away from kissing once again. Owen leaned forward to caress my lips once more but I delayed the osculation.

I took a deep breath before finally admitting, "I love you."

Owen smiled. "I love you too."

It felt fantastic to say that. It felt like the world's weight had lifted off my shoulders. How long I waited to confess that to him. I just wanted to say it a thousand times. We kissed yet again.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to say that," I confessed.

Owen kidded, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to make out with you."

I laughed, "Me too."

"Awwwww," Penny clapped her hands together and sang teasingly.

Jackson sneered, "Kylie Scorch gets her happy fairytale ending."

"It's just how imagined it, two of my best friends hovering near by and awkwardly monitoring the entire thing. A dream come true," I muttered sarcastically.

Penny skipped outside and kicked the front door open. The wooden door swung and the flat surface hit me in the face, crushing my nose. Jackson poked his head out the doorway, grinning, as Penny tossed her arm over Owen's shoulder and pulled the blond hair boy in closely.

"Welcome back to the group, Owen. We missed you and your silly sarcasm," Penny stated giddily.

Owen narrowed his eyes at the girl. "You were never part of our group. It was always just me and Kylie."

Penny inhaled deeply, taking mass offense to Owen's previous proclamation. She withdrew with her hand partially covering her mouth. Penny's expression showed how crushed she was by Owen's hurtful statement. "Jackson and I have been a part of this gang for a while," she protested. "We traveled with Kylie all the way through Victory Road and stuck by her side ever since."

I punched Owen in the shoulder and teased, "Yeah, Owen, get with the program."

Aiden joined the party on the front porch. "Hey guys, it's eleven o'clock so we better get out of here."

I turned back to Owen. "Do you have a ride back?" I asked.

"No, I took a taxi here," he informed me.

Penny squealed in excitement, "You took a taxi all the way here to declare your love for her?! That is so romantic."

"The bill wasn't exactly romantic," Owen replied. I glared at him crossly. He quickly recovered, "But it was completely worth it!"

---

Summer arrived and all my friends had different dreams they went to chase. Aiden left for the Orange Islands where he was determined to obtain at least four badges in order to enter the Orange League. There were plenty of interesting remote isles to explore in that region and the ten year old boy couldn't keep himself from constantly talking about his excitement to visit them all.

Penny accepted her offer to work at the Celadon City Gym and further her studies in grass type Pokemon. She also told me that Erika, the gym leader, would be her personal mentor on how to become a successful gym leader. I was proud to have a friend that possessed the capability to possibly become a gym leader someday.

Jackson embarked on his trip around Hoenn to enter Pokemon contests. He and his Rattata made an excellent team and I fully believe that Jackson contains the creativity to think up different combinations of moves that coordinators are required to visualize. His goal is to make it to the grand festival, as is any other coordinator's, and add a few new members to his diminutive team.

As for Owen and I, we were simply sitting on my front porch enjoying each other's company. He was leaning back on his palms lifting his chin towards the sky to warm his face in the sun. I was poking the paint chips that were peeling off my porch with a twig. Sometime in the last couple of weeks, Owen let Larvitar join his team and he was welcomed warmly by every one of our Pokemon. All of our Pokemon were running around the wide fields that Pallet Town was known for. Owen's Pokemon and my Pokemon were happy to be reunited with one another, just how I was happy to be reunited with him.

Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be able to enjoy this quality time with him for much longer. He informed that he'd gotten accepted to intern at the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. He'd be leaving in the fall and wasn't sure how long he'd be staying there. I insisted that I go with him but he convinced me that I'd never be able to see him anyway and it'd be better if I stayed at home with my parents where I was safe. In other words, that commitment was too big too soon, but I guess traveling the region together for a whole year is no big deal.

Regardless, Owen and I still loved each other and that's all that mattered. Even if he was away for a week, a month, a year, or ten years, I'm sure we'd somehow find our way back to one another. Because you know what they say? _True love is blind._

**A/N: Ladies and gentlemen… it's official. Pokemon Scorch Journeys has finally ended. May I just say that the quote "what a long, strange trip it's been" is completely appropriate. It has most certainly been a long, strenuous three years working on this fanfic. Never when I imagined writing the first chapter, which was absolute crap, that it would turn into a nearly 100 chapter story. Story isn't even an accurate word. This thing I commonly call PSJ is a novel. A novel of action, adventure, humor, determination, heart warming moments, love, and oh so many grammar mistakes and typos.**

**I would like to apologize to all of you for providing such an awful last chapter. I could give you all excuses like how busy I've been lately, how I'm moving on to bigger and better things, and how I've basically lost my lust to continue to write this fic (which are all true), but I'll save you the in depth justification. I never wanted to end it like this. Honestly, (you all probably know this by now), but I had no idea how I was going to end it. One thing I absolutely did not want to do was end the entire thing with the chapter that Kylie and Owen finally reunite, but it looks like that's what I'm about to do. I love this story and I love these characters but my ideas have gone dry. I'm afraid that PSJ has run its course.**

**Now that I've apologized I want thank you all SO SO SO SO SO MUCH! You have no idea how much I appreciate each and every one of you. You have all enabled me to become a better writer and helped me and encouraged me to stick with this extensive fic after all these years. Your kind words, love for the story, and eagerness to find out what was gonna happen next helped me get through the worst of writer's blocks. After adding a new chapter, I would smile endlessly to go online and see those couple of new reviews greeting me as I clicked on my inbox. So thank you so so so so SO much to all my loyal readers and frequent reviewers! And thank you so very much to everyone who has favorited, alerted, and added PSJ to your fanfic communities!**

**Sorry for the long author's note, but this is indeed the last chapter so I'm utilizing every good minute of it. There are two incredible people I want to give a special thanks to. My two best friends DJ (Stars and Pulsars) and Emily (blue drift) have helped me so much throughout this entire series! They were my saints when I had no idea what to have happen next. They critiqued each of my chapters before I added it to fanfiction and always had great ideas on how I could improve each chapter so it would more enjoyable for you guys out there. I could not have gotten this far without them and they are both talented writers that you guys definitely need to check out!**

**Here it comes, folks. This is the time where I start wrapping things up. If you want to read more of my stories in the future or are a fan of my writing style, please take a gander over at my profile and vote for what you think my next story should be about! I really appreciate the feedback and you may not think so but one vote can really make all the difference to me.**

**So once again I'd just like to thank my encouraging readers, for without you guys this ending would've probably never happened. Speaking of endings, once again I'm really sorry this one sucked (at least I think it did). Please, be honest and tell me whether you liked it or not. Did it satisfy your want for closure? Reviewing will only help me become a better writer and help me with ending stories in the future. (I could definitely use some practice on ending stories). Remember everyone! This is gonna be your last review ever on PSJ! So make it count!**

**That's about it, everyone! Thank you so much and I hope you all enjoyed my telling of Kylie Scorch's Pokemon journey around the Kanto region!**

**p.s. FYI, I did write about four other alternative endings. If anyone is interested in seeing those because they were disappointed with this one then tell me, and I will post all of them soon as a new chapter.**

**Keep reading, keep writing, keep reviewing!**


End file.
